Fritz Pollard, the NFL's first African-American head coach, was a true pioneer of the sport.
This team consisted of only African Americans and performed admirably against all opponents. Frederick Douglass Pollard, also known as Fritz Pollard, was born on January 27, 1894.
He played the 1924 season with the Gilberton Cadamounts, an independent professional football team, rejoining the Hammond Pros for part of the 1925 season. In 1919, he joined the Akron Pros, a professional football team in Akron, Ohio. Pollard a commencé sa carrière professionnelle avec les Akron pros, en les guidant à la victoire du championnat de la NFL (APFA) en 1920. Eventually Brown University offered Pollard a scholarship, and he led the school’s football team to the Rose Bowl in 1916. That figure now stands at approximately 70 percent. He routinely could not eat in the same restaurants or stay in the same hotels as teammates. Some sources claim that Pollard only served as head coach of the Akron Pros, while other sources, including Pollard, contend that he served as the head coach for the Milwaukee Badgers, the Hammond Pros, the Providence Steam Roller, and the Akron Indians. This season, he led the team in rushing, receiving, scoring, and in punt return yardage. This league became the National Football League in 1922.With the Akron Pros, Pollard helped the team win the American Professional Football League championship in 1920. Before forming the Bronx Bombers, Pollard established the Chicago Black Hawks, an all African-American team in Chicago, Illinois.Pollard retired from football in 1937.
He finished his career in the National Football League in 1926, with the Akron Indians. In honor of Pollard’s achievements in football, the Black Coaches Association renamed its Male Coach of the Year Award the Fritz Pollard Award in 2004. To prevent this from occurring, Pollard usually rolled over onto his back and put his shoes’ cleats into the air, impaling anyone who tried to pile onto him after the play had ended. It then explores Pollard's legacy and inspiration for those that followed in his footsteps.
The Pros became a charter member of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. It traces his life from a star at Brown University to a player and then coach for the Akron All-Pros, the first NFL Champions.
He died on May 11, 1986. Pollard was the first African American to play in the Rose Bowl. Il a également joué pour Milwaukee, blaireaux Plus Hammond, Gilberton Cadamounts, le Club Union des Phoenixville et Providence vapeur rouleau. In 1922, he joined the Milwaukee Badgers, and in 1923, he became a player for the Hammond Pros. With the Akron Pros, Pollard helped the team win the American Professional Football League championship in 1920. In 1921, Pollard became co-head coach of the Pros. Upon graduating from Brown University, Pollard held several jobs. Players on opposing teams commonly tried to harm him by piling onto him after a play was over. With Nate Burleson. Despite this debate, Pollard clearly served as the first African-American head coach of an American Professional Football League and a National Football League team. Just under 100 years ago, well under 1 percent of NFL players were African American. The love of athletic competition eventually led Pollard to return to football as a player. In 1921, Pollard became co-head coach of the Pros. En 1921, il est également devenu entraîneur co-chef des pros Akron, mais aussi de maintenir son rôle en tant que marche arrière. In addition to the Hall, we are both members of Alpha Phi Alpha. Pollard remained as the Pros’ head coach for only the 1921 season. Beginning in 1934, the National Football League permitted an unofficial ban on African-American players. Il a été formé Gilberton plus Cadamounts, un cours de formation ne faisant pas partie de la NFL.Pollard, ainsi que neuf autres joueurs afro-américains dans la NFL à l'époque, a été retiré de la ligue à la fin de la saison, de ne pas revenir. He pursued a degree in dentistry, directed a YMCA, and also coached football at Lincoln University.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted Pollard as a member in 2005.