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Frederick Douglass " Fritz " Pollard (January 27, 1894 - May 11, 1986) was an American football player and coach. Pollard had a subpar game in a 140 defeat to Washington State, but he became the first African American to play in the Rose Bowl game. He had two returns for touchdown and was named the American Athletic Conference's Special Teams Player of the Year. Now the family shop is where Tony's family and friends gather to cheer him on. Tony isn't the only Pollard living his dream. It was only the beginning of Pollard breaking down racialbarriers. There were four 100-yard rushers in the NFL Sunday and three of them are basically the legendary runners top fantasy picks, if you will in the game. The same players that shunned Pollard four months earlier were now bringing him food. That's where he got the nickname Fritz. As we head into the Super Bowl, here are 10 amazing facts on the incredible journey of Fritz Pollard, one of the first African-American players to play professional football and also the first to become a head coach. Their move north had paid off. Pollard was one of only two African-Americans at Brown in 1915 and the first to live on campus. Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. "Even if it helps just one person in the same situation as my great-grandfather, with the odds stacked against them, to persevere and make something of themselves, then it was worth it. With the US in the depths of the Great Depression and millions of white people unemployed, he argued that paying black men to play football would be bad for business. "And the other big difference is that 70% of the players are Black.". The 5-9, 165-pound back, who led Brown to the Rose Bowl in 1915, turned pro in 1919, when he joined the Akron (OH) Pros following army service during World War I. As long as were winning, everything is fine, Pollard said after Sundays 20-17 victory. The FPA negotiated with the NFL to establish a rule requiring teams to interview at least one ethnic minority candidate for each head coach vacancy. Fritz III says his grandfather felt there were two reasons why he wasn't voted into the Hall of Fame during his lifetime: George Halas and George Preston Marshall. The Pollard family tells ABC24 how it took a village to help the former Memphis Tiger achieve his dreams. Pollard would probably recognize all of this as progress for both black people and the game, but chances are he would call on the NFL to do more to increase the number of black head coaches, front office executives and team owners. Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two African-American players in the NFL in 1920. "I, myself, bought and paid $200 out of my pocket for football shoes for the team." In 1937, Fritz Pollard retired from pro football and pursued a career in business. [21], In Week 2, against the Los Angeles Chargers, Pollard totaled 137 scrimmage yards in the 2017 victory. Read about our approach to external linking. [7] In the 2018 Birmingham Bowl against Wake Forest, he recorded 318 all-purpose yards (209 on kickoff returns) and one rushing touchdown. Carolinas Christian McCaffrey is the only back ranked in the top 15 also averaging fewer than four yards per carry. He made up for it at Memphis' pro day by clocking in at a 4.37. Pollard also facilitated integration in the NFL by recruiting other African American players such as Paul Robeson, Jay Mayo Williams, and John Shelbourne and by organizing the first interracial all-star game featuring NFL players in 1922. [20] Overall, he appeared in all 16 games, of which he started two, in the 2020 season. As his team returned from one game in Gilberton, the train's windows were shot out. ), ten touchdowns with one kickoff return for a touchdown. ", Glittering drama based on the audacious Brinks-Mat security depot heist, A corrupt copper and a Leeds gangster are bound together by decades of dishonesty. Marshall was an avowed segregationist who owned the Washington football franchise from its inception in 1932 to his death in 1969. Its possible the head coach simply believes that. "My son is on TV playing for the Cowboys? Solomon said. [16] During Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams, Pollard finished with 131 rushing yards on 12 attempts, including a 44-yard touchdown as the Cowboys won 4421. While Brown lost the Rose Bowl 14-0 to Washington State,it was a historic game. [2] He was the first African American football player at Brown. The Dallas Cowboys lost in the playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers for a second straight year, and their Pro Bowl running back suffered a serious injury in the process. degree on Pollard, recognizing his achievements as athlete and leader. In 2005, Fritz Pollard was posthumously inducted into the, In 2015, Pollard was posthumously inducted into the, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 22:16. "Hammond and Milwaukee were bad, but never as bad as Akron. Tony Pollard broke his left . In Akron, Pollard became the first black head coach and quarterback in the NFL and the most vocal advocate for black players in the formative years of the league. He was 65. In 1923 and 1924, he served as head coach for the Hammond Pros.[2]. Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard is on the mend. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas, Its time to face facts, Tony Pollard is the most dangerous RB in the Cowboys backfield, 10 truths from Cowboys win: From Parsons to Pollard, playmakers are popping up everywhere in Dallas, The Cowboys are closer than you think to a total makeover at running back, Why Rangers cautious approach with pitchers in spring training could still be risky, Jerry Jones talks Dak Prescotts Tom Brady-esque qualities and more from the NFL combine, Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving duos on-the-fly rapport gets test from Kevin Durant, Suns, A week after torching the Stars, Max Domi joins Dallas in its march toward the playoffs, UIL boys basketball playoffs (6A): Tre Johnson, Lake Highlands shine; DeSoto defense rises, 2023 UIL girls state basketball: Schedule, previews and more for Dallas-area teams, 2023 UIL girls basketball state tournament pairings: See schedule for semifinal matchups, 2023 UIL boys basketball regional tournament pairings: See schedule for Dallas-area teams, All eyes on No. "If somebody were to ask Fritz Pollard, 'What do you think 100 years from now it's going to be like in the National Football League?'" In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). The Dallas Cowboys selectedTony Pollard in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The US summer of 1919 was known as the Red Summer. "Crack Lincoln University Team Coached by Fritz Pollard". My father had taught me that I was too big to be humiliated by prejudiced whites. "You just lived with it. They also threatened not to play when he was denied a room in LA. In 2022, with the Steelers' Mike Tomlin and recently-named Texans head coach Lovie Smith, that percentage is 6.3%. Pollard got all of 13 carries and turned it into 109 yards, his second biggest day as a pro. It was a German-immigrant part of town. Fritz Pollard Jr suffered from Alzheimer's during the final years of his life, but just before he died there was a moment of clarity. Subjects: Do you find this information helpful? They dressed in locker rooms, ate with teammates at restaurants, slept in team hotels and became multi-million-dollar superstars. After going on to play and coach for four different NFL teams in Indiana and Milwaukee, Pollard was banned from the league in 1926 along with eight or nine other Black players "in a fateful decision to segregate," according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. NFL pioneer Fritz Pollard's life story more relevant than ever Published: Jun 17, 2020 at 05:18 PM Anthony Smith "Fritz Pollard: A Forgotten Man", directed and produced by NFL Network senior. These shows can run the gamut of topics from love on The Bachelor, to partying and a little bit of chaos on Jersey Shore.. During the 2000s, Flavor of Love became a hit dating show that ultimately launched the career of Tiffany Pollard, who most people know better as New York. Knowing that the NFL would be oneof the biggest businesses in the nation andthat 70% of the players on 32 teams would be Black? Your email address will not be published. Updates? He called the team Redskins in 1933, a racial slur that was only dropped in July this year amid mounting pressure. His professional career was finally about to begin. In 1919, as more than 25 race riots erupted in major U.S. cities, Fritz Pollard, a former Brown University All-American running back, joined the Akron Pros, a pro football team that would later become a charter member of the NFL. Because my son proved me wrong.". If the field was a quagmire, his face would be held in the water. Mark Wahlberg pours tequila for fans at Dallas restaurant during thunderstorm, Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving tandem clicks with joint 40-point displays in Mavs win vs. 76ers, Dallas Cowboys focused on adding another dynamic offensive weapon, 12 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants that have closed in 2023, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones responds to Lakers star LeBron James comments. In 1923, while playing for the Hammond Pros, he became the first African American quarterback in the league. BBC Sport looks at some of the stories that make Super Bowl LVII one of the most exciting yet as the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles. Instead, it's a box-checking exercise. Halas was the greatest foe of Black football players, Pollard told a reporter in 1971, adding that Halas helped start the ball rolling that eventually led to the barring of blacks from professional football in 1933., While Halas dismissed the notion that he was racist, he wouldnt draft a black player until 1949 when he took George Taliaferro out of Indiana, the first African American to be drafted by an NFL team. It was named the Rooney Rule after Dan Rooney, former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who at the time was chairman of the NFL's diversity committee. Fritz, the standout achiever, earned a Rockefeller Scholarship at Brown University, an Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island, on the United States' east coast. It was really important to us as a family to get that known. He later worked as a tax and public relations consultant. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Latest on Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN And here I was, playing and coaching and pulling down the highest salary in pro football. Pollard's Barber Shop was a popular neighbourhood hang-out and the Pollard boys played football for hours in the local park. As he walked on, he wouldheartaunts shouted from the stands. That's how good the 5-9 Pollard was. Only 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 metres) and 150 pounds (68 kg), Pollard won the grudging acceptance of his teammates at Brown University in Rhode Island in 1915, leading the team to a victory over Yale and an invitation to the Tournament of Roses game in Pasadena, California. He also played for the Milwaukee Badgers, Hammond Pros, Gilberton Cadamounts, Union Club of Phoenixville and Providence Steam Roller. Get the latest news. and three touchdowns. "Why?" The next year, he was named co-head coach as he continued to play for the Pros. It's kind of weird to say, but I love it," Terrion said. If Pollard wasn't allowed to stay at the hotel, they would all leave and head back to Rhode Island. Fritz Pollard made history as NFL's first black coach and quarterback. Pollard coached Lincoln University's football team in Oxford, Pennsylvania during the 1918 to 1920 seasons [4] and served as athletic director of the school's World War I era Students' Army Training Corps. In 40 college games, Pollard recorded 941 rushing yards and 1,292 receiving yards. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves and say, 'Is this real? "Members of the Akron Pros swear by Pollard," wroteJack Gibbons of The Akron Beacon Journal on Nov.30, 1920. Brown finished with an 8-1 record, with their star player selected in the All-America team. Nonetheless, in the opening week of the NFL season, there were four black head coaches, one black general manager and nine black starting quarterbacks. By the time the NFL's second black head coach was appointed in 1989, Pollard, who died in 1986, had long been written out of the history books. He played college football at Memphis, and was drafted by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. "I kind of love it. (I'd) just look at themand grin, and the next minute run 80 yards for a touchdown.". Additionally, Pollard ranks ninth in positive EPA play percentage, meaning he is . [10], Fritz also coached the Gilberton Cadamounts, a non-NFL team. Its more than fair to wonder about the opposite.More from Cowboys-Chargers, Poor clock management made game-winning kick longer than it needed to be, Cowboys were very comfortable playing in SoFi Stadium, Cowboys gained much-needed confidence from a victory the Chargers bungled away, Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott run all over Chargers defense, Rookie LB Micah Parsons records first NFL sack while lined up at DE, 5 takeaways from Cowboys-Chargers, including the best game from Dallas linebackers in years, Cowboys were very comfortable playing in SoFi Stadium: That was our home game, National reaction to Cowboys-Chargers: Greg Zuerlein drills game-winning FG; Tony Pollard shines. He finished with 101 carries for 435 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 28 receptions for 193 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. The rule is named for former Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who chaired the league's diversity committee. "For Brown, The Wrong Shoe Was On The Foot In The '16 Rose Bowl Game," by Frank Bianco (Nov. 24, 1980), More Black History Month Pioneers:* Florence Griffith Joyner Smashed Records and Stereotypes* Remembering Satchel Paige, Maybe The Best Pitcher To Ever Live* Paul Robeson Was America's Quintessential Renaissance Man, 2023 ABG-SI LLC. All the while, he faced death threats from students and opposing teams. FRISCO, Texas At the age of 14, Tony Pollard started flipping burgers at his family's famous restaurant, Pollard's Bar-B-Que on Elvis Presley Boulevard, in Memphis, Tenn . This year, the NFL is celebrating its 100th season and a heritage that began when 11 teams met on Aug. 20, 1920, in Canton, Ohio, to form the American Professional Football Association. He was almost always in the game -- as quarterback, running back and often doing punt returns and kickoff returns. This February, Sports Illustrated is celebrating Black History Month by spotlighting a different iconic athlete every day. And of the 12-year absence of blacks from the league from 1934 to 1946, Halas would say, Probably the game didnt have the appeal to black players at the time.. Courtesy of Brown University, Providence, R.I. (1894-1986). In 1920, with Pollard leading the team, the Pros went undefeated (8-0-3) to win the league's first championship. Here are 4 reasons why they should Related: Cowboys RB Tony Pollard undergoes surgery for injuries suffered vs. 49ers Related: What NFL salary cap increase means for Cowboys and how it affects RB . Pollard was wickedly smart and, while playing halfback at Brown as the school's first Black player, he majored in chemistry, earning almost all As. "We better let him play," the linebacker told the coach. He became their player-coach the following season. AKA: Sharon K Fritz, Sharon Fritz-Pollard, Sharon K Pollard. The Pollards have been Barbequing for four generations. "And it's not even close.". They knew he'd be targeted because of his size and skin colour. Something like that. Pollard felt Halas held a personal grudge going back to when they were high school sports rivals in Chicago, and that he also played a prominent role in the ban being approved. Fritz Pollard, the NFL's first African-American head coach, was a true pioneer of the sport. For this reason the FPA has in recent years been vocal in flagging potential violations of the rule while seeking to enhance it. Its difficult to imagine the game without black players. Fritz Pollard Jr suffered from Alzheimer's during the final years of his life, but just before he died there was a moment of clarity. His brother Terrion now carries on the family tradition, working with his dad at Pollard's. He is considered by many observers of the NFL as the first conscience of the game. Pollards has been recognized by the Travel Channel as 1 of 10 Memphis BBQ places to visit! NFL to consider rule change after RB injury. "Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the '40s," says Pollard's grandson, Fritz Pollard III. Fritz Pollard, byname of Frederick Douglass Pollard, Sr., (born January 27, 1894, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.died May 11, 1986, Silver Spring, Maryland), pioneering African American player and coach in American collegiate and professional gridiron football. He subsequently became the first black running back to ever be selected for the All-American team. Pollard died in 1986 at 92, outliving his rival, George Halas, by three years. The race to compete in Super Bowl 57 is under way - how many winners since 2000 can you name? If they think they can't do something or belittle themselves. "Pollard's Orange and Blue Juggernaut Crushes Camp Dix". Reasons and Patrick, "Pollard Set Records as Black Football Player, Coach". Pollardoften had to be escorted onto the field by police officers. Pollard. Pollard established theNew York Independent News, the first weekly black tabloid. Pollard was posthumously inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in . Here's when clocks will 'spring forward' in 2023, Cordova High School alum Quinton Bohanna makes Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster, Defense leads the way in Memphis' 44-34 win over North Texas. Pollard told him: "You'll find me down there in your end zone.". He continued to promote the integration of more black players. . MEMPHIS, Tenn. Pollard's BBQ is back open on Sundaysbut you better have your Cowboys gear on. Pollard, along with all nine of the African American players in the NFL at the time, were removed from the league at the end of the 1926 season, never to return again. According to Sports Info Solutions, only Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones have a higher EPA generated per rushing attempt than Pollard. Yet he welcomed Pollard with a highly abusive racial slur, saying he was going to kill him. Pollard was small, even for. [24] In Week 8, against Chicago, Pollard had 13 carries for 141 yards and three rushing touchdowns in the 4929 win, and was named Ground Player of the Week. Pro Football Hall of Fame (inducted 2005), https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fritz-Pollard, Ohio History Central - Biography of Frederick D. Pollard, Pro Football Hall of Fame - Biography of Fritz Pollard, Fritz Pollard - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). But when the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963, he was not among the charter class of 17 inductees. And it wont be a surprise if Pollard stays above 5.0 all season. Yet, Pollard's humble, quiet ways never changed. When returning kick-offs, he often dived to the floor, leaving the tacklers to collide with each other, before getting back to his feet to continue running. The former Memphis standout is currently earning a base salary of $965,000 while carrying a cap charge of $1.131 million, via Spotrac. [8], Pollard was considered one of the best kickoff return specialists in college football, tying a FBS record with seven career kick-return touchdowns, 87 kickoff returns (second in school history), 2,616 kickoff return yards (second in school history), 30.1 kick-return average (school record) and 4,680 all-purpose yards (second in school history). He called the team Redskins in 1933, a racial slur that was only. Fritz Pollard, byname of Frederick Douglass Pollard, Sr., (born January 27, 1894, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.died May 11, 1986, Silver Spring, Maryland), pioneering African American player and coach in American collegiate and professional gridiron football. Pollard left a lasting impression in Providence. The 1993 Super Bowl was to be a landmark event for Arizona but it disappeared out of the state in a swirl of politics, polemic and division. Pollard wanted the same thing. In that same time frame, Zeke has nine in 572 carries about one every 63 rushing attempts. How to get into American football a sport for all shapes and sizes that requires both mental and physical skills. I dont know what guidance, if any, he gives offensive coordinator Kellen Moore when it comes to using his two backs. [15] During Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins, Pollard posted his first career 100+-yard game as he finished with 103 rushing yards on 13 carries and a touchdown as the Cowboys won 316. Actually, if defenses should focus on anyone, its Pollard. Corrections? Fritz Pollard, the Brown University halfback, in 1916. I said 'yeah, I know, that's what I've been telling you'.". From there, Black players joined the league and began dominating on the field. Pollard attended Albert G. Lane Manual Training High School in Chicago, also known as "Lane Tech," where he played football, baseball, and ran track. Imagine NFL stars of today like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson having to arrive moments before kick-off and being driven on to the field. He opened the Sun Tan Studios, where the likes of Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole rehearsed, and produced music videos called 'soundies'. Despite his accomplishments in football, he was hardly immune to the discrimination African-Americans facedincluding before that 1916 Rose Bowl. The former Memphis Tiger first stepped on a football field when he was four years old. It was time for his family to take up the story. . ", "Look at the c-suites of your teams, the medical staffs, and the ultimate decision makers the head coaches and GMs and youll see those faces dont represent what your teams look like," Dungy wrote last year. Many credit Pollard and Jim Thorpe with saving the fledgling league as it struggled to compete with baseball and boxing. Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 May 11, 1986) was an American football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). He became a tax consultant. Race riots took place across the country. Yet after he retired, the doors he forced open were slammed shut by a 'gentleman's agreement' that saw African-Americans banned from 1934 until 1946. They lost the game through lack of rest." It wasan incredible display of solidarity. His Black fans "were so wild over having him in their midst that they arranged a parade and met him at the railroad depot," wrote Gibbons. He is the sonof a despised race. That quest had also been his own - to get his father into the US Pro Football Hall of Fame. A standout athlete at Brown University, Pollard also qualified for the 1916 Olympics in Berlin for the low hurdles, but the games were cancelled after the outbreak of World War I. Three years after Pollard's death,Art Shell was hired as head coach of the Raiders, the first Black head NFL coach of the modern era. ", Fritz III recalls: "You could see all the reporters going 'who's Fritz Pollard?' He then went to Brown University, majoring in chemistry. [3] He finished among the national leaders in kickoff return average (28.1 yards). In 1921, Pollard was made player-coach and finished as the league's top scorer. Since Pollard got here in 2019, he has 10 runs of 20 yards or more in 203 carries about one every 20 rushing attempts. 'Bloody Wednesdays' were the scrimmages where reserve players could challenge starters for a spot on the team. "Sometimes I sit at home and say, 'I can't believe this,' Torria said. He didn't care to serve Fritz," Gibbons wrote. At that time, black players were banned from the sport. [8], Pollard criticized Lincoln's administration, saying they had hampered his ability to coach and had refused to provide adequate travel accommodations for the team. And they would state this as if it were simply true, end of story. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com. "My dad was a single parent, and when he wasn't working all the hours he did it was phone call after phone call, meeting after meeting, trying to get my great-grandfather's name out there.". That's because Pollard was an exceptional return man for Memphis. His mother was Native American, his father an African American who boxed professionally during the Civil War. Bothered by an upset stomach, the running back ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at the combine, which was a slow time for him.