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. In 1921, he became the co-head coach of the Akron Pros, while still maintaining his roster position as running back. Both men are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Hes 17th in the league in rushing on just 16 carries, but his 7.7 average is the best among all running backs with at least three carries. Pollard played halfback on the Brown football team, which went to the 1916 Rose Bowl. [21], In Week 2, against the Los Angeles Chargers, Pollard totaled 137 scrimmage yards in the 2017 victory. The Dallas Cowboys selected Tony Pollard in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Bleacher crowds and outside towns jeerhim and taunthim about his color," read anarticle in the Akron Evening Times December 5, 1920. degree on Pollard, recognizing his achievements as athlete and leader. Surrounded by family and BBQ. Pollard and Co. [13] Pollard also published the New York Independent News from 1935 to 1942, purportedly the first African American-owned tabloid in New York City.[14]. 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. It is remarkable to watch the hoops that people will jump through, the injuries they will risk to avoid stating the rather obvious fact that Tony Pollard is a better runner than Ezekiel Elliott. [14], He had 13 carries for 24 yards in his NFL debut in Week 1 against the New York Giants in the 3517 victory. It was evident in my first year at Akron back in 1919 that they didnt want blacks in there getting that money, Pollard said. Some of the worst violence took place in Pollard's home town of Chicago. But the discussion of balance that was all about run vs. pass after Tampa Bay should shift to the balancing act the two running backs necessitate. If he is tackled, as many as possible pile on him. "They said no African Americans, period, because it was bad for business," said Towns. When owners colluded to shut black players out of the league from 1934 to 1946, Pollard used the pages of a newspaper that he started after his retirement to press for change. After escaping slavery, he had fought for the Union during the Civil War. It's a game thatalmost didn't happen. In his second, he faced future Hall of Famer Jim Thorpe. "He always let his skills on the field, and his actions off it, define who he was. Author of. Rival fans would taunt Pollard with it throughout his career. The rule is named for former Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who chaired the league's diversity committee. He then went to Brown University, majoring in chemistry. His case is typical of a process called 'racial stacking' which still influences the number of black head coaches we see today. When he showed up for football practice that September, none of the players wanted him on the team. "Now it's a healthy engagement, an exchange of ideas and not always agreement, but overall it's a working relationship with open lines of communication.". If I figured a hotel or restaurant didnt want me, I stayed away. "I, myself, bought and paid $200 out of my pocket for football shoes for the team." [4], As a sophomore, he posted 36 receptions for 536 yards (14.9-yard avg.) "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?'" "He literally kept the NFL from folding," Towns said. '", RELATED: Cordova High School alum Quinton Bohanna makes Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster. Pollard wouldn't have to dodge the spotlight for long. Days later, Pollard played in abenefit game inPittsburgh and was greeted with a hero's welcome. Pollard's family grew up Pittsburgh Steelers fans, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of NFL Co-Founder Carl Storck (Story), The Life And Career Of Jim Thorpe (Complete Story), Top 20 Most Underrated Coaches In NFL History (Complete List), The Life And Career Of QB Jim Plunkett (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of Deion Sanders (Complete Story). As his team returned from one game in Gilberton, the train's windows were shot out. Pollard and Thorpe were pro football's highest-paid players, the main attractions. "I don't need to get hit every Sunday. Fritz Pollard, the Brown University halfback, in 1916. Many credit Pollard and Jim Thorpe with saving the fledgling league as it struggled to compete with baseball and boxing. 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. Pollard suffered a fractured left . Then a fateful meeting took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His three older brothers all played the game and felt black players could do well - if they adhered to an unwritten code of conduct. He was so swift and agile that even those who scoffed -- and worse -- at a Black player, couldn't help but cheer when he ran for three50-yard touchdowns in one game. It was only the beginning of Pollard breaking down racialbarriers. If someone can slug him without the referee seeing him, it is done. Now the family shop is where Tony's family and friends gather to cheer him on. "They couldn't find anything so I said 'you're looking in the wrong papers'," says Fritz III. He also went on to become the second Black player named to Walter Camp's All-American team. He feared he had squandered any chance of playing professional football. "Opposing players make it a point of pride to rough him as much as possible. He is the sonof a despised race. That's where he got the nickname Fritz. As a player-coach and later a fierce private advocate for black advancement in the game, Pollard never backed down to this authority. Academic difficulties meant Pollard's college career was cut short. He became their player-coach the following season. He has amassed 1,279 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns while sharing load with Elliott. In 2020, there are three black coaches - the same as when the rule was instituted. Pollard asked to run the play twice more and scored two more touchdowns. The Depression ended the Brown Bombers' run in 1938, and Pollard went on to other ventures, including a talent agency, tax consulting, and film and music production. "I kind of love it. The final was 13-0 with Robeson scoring both touchdowns in his finest pro football performance. 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. In 1920, the leagues inaugural season, when there was no playoff and the champion was determined by its win-loss record, Pollards Pros went 8-0-3 and took the title. [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. Pollardoften had to be escorted onto the field by police officers. Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was born on January 27, 1894 in Chicago. As ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted, Pollard has now touched the ball just eight times in his career after his 30th snap of a given game. As long as were winning, everything is fine, Pollard said after Sundays 20-17 victory. and three touchdowns. Both he and Halas were at that meeting of team owners in 1933, when Marshall pitched the idea of banning black players. Pollard was one of the first two along with Bobby Marshall African-Americans in the National Football League in 1920. "The big contrast now is absolutely how crazy big the NFL is as a business, billions and billions of dollars," he said. Pollard tied an NCAA record with seven kickoff returns for touchdowns. Then they leapt from their chairs, grabbed the waiter and proceeded to artistically maul him until he consented to wait on Pollard. The family had prospered. I was there to play football and make my money.. Pollard's son Fritz Jr competed at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, winning a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles before serving in the US army in World War II. Yet the next summer Denver held quarterback meetings without him and he asked to be released. In 1954 Pollard became the second African American selected to the College Football Hall of Fame. "You just lived with it. He was the school's first black athlete a triple threat when it came to sports in football, track and boxing. It was Halas, who in 1922, suggested to the other owners that the name of the league be changed from the American Professional Football Association to the National Football League. 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 . To settle who was the real champion, Halas reached out to Pollard to arrange a game between the Staleys and the Pros in Chicago. They had to cut to a commercial and then my phone just blew up with people saying 'they're talking about your grandfather'.". He's also caught 39 passes for 337 yards. [9], On January 11, 2019, Pollard declared for the 2019 NFL Draft. And they would state this as if it were simply true, end of story. "Fritz Pollards skin is black. Then in November 1923, after switching teams, he played an entire game at quarterback for the Hammond Pros. But the fleet-footed running back quickly became the team's star player, dubbed 'the human torpedo' because he ran so low to the turf. And believe us, Fritz got some service after that.". Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. It didn't end until the Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington in 1946, and the NFL wasn't fully reintegrated until 1962. "(Two teammates)watched the proceedings as long as they could. There are three awards in his name at Brown and in the 1970s, when his grandson Fritz III played football there, a local shop owner refused to take his money and said: "My father took me to see your grandfather play. Halas is a name rightfully synonymous with the founding of the NFL. He can pad his totals with long runs that Elliott really hasnt been able to accumulate since he burst on the scene as the 2016 rushing champion. "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.". 0:00. Getty Images. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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. At that time Pollard was 69 and the owner of several business ventures. [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. What also helped build momentum was an advocacy group formed in 2003 that champions diversity and the hiring of NFL coaches, scouts and front-office staff from minority backgrounds. Halas was involved with the Chicago Bears from their creation in 1920 until his death in 1983, first as a player, then coach and team owner. ), 39 receptions for 458 yards (11.7-yard avg. Pollard was posthumously inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in . His grandson, Fritz III, became a three-sport All-American at college. In 1921, Pollard was made player-coach and finished as the league's top scorer. Everything he learnt from his brothers was about to be put to the test. And it wont be a surprise if Pollard stays above 5.0 all season. Newspaper articles at the time, who described Pollard as a "colored" coach, praised his stellar football IQ. . "It was bad for white people to come and watch Black people who have jobs.". 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, Ex-Cowboys OC Kellen Moore opens up on Dallas departure, shows gratitude for Mike McCarthy, 12 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants that have closed in 2023. 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. He spent some time organizing all-African American barnstorming teams, including the Chicago Black Hawks in 1928 and the Harlem Brown Bombers in the 1930s. According to Sports Info Solutions, only Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones have a higher EPA generated per rushing attempt than Pollard. 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. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com. Your email address will not be published. Actually, if defenses should focus on anyone, its Pollard. Still, some players didn't like that Pollard was playing and they despised even more that he was a star player in the NFL. That quest had also been his own - to get his father into the US Pro Football Hall of Fame. He touched the ball on 16 of his 21 snaps Sunday. The Pollards were well known in Rogers Park, a suburb on the north side of Chicago. As he recalled the song in his final interview with Berry before his death in 1986, tears rolled down his cheek. From there, Black players joined the league and began dominating on the field. In his seven-year pro career, Pollard played for four NFL teams plus two in rival leagues in Pennsylvania. The Pollards have been Barbequing for four generations. His professional career was finally about to begin. He became a tax consultant. He averaged 30.1 yards per return. In the second quarter of the Cowboys-49ers divisional matchup, the Cowboys running back had his left ankle trapped underneath a . It was the best game I'd ever seen.". Its difficult to imagine the game without black players. By February 1933, there had been 13 black players in the NFL. Tony isn't the only Pollard living his dream. Pollard then signed with the NFL's Akron Pros, whom he led to a championship in his rookie season. Not the way Solomon believes Pollard might have expected. I said 'yeah, I know, that's what I've been telling you'.". 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. Updates? 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. Pollard played and coached at a time when restaurants wouldn't serve him and hotels shunned him. Yet, through it all, Pollard held his head high and helped lead Brown to the Rose Bowl against Washington State in 1916. The Fritz Pollard Alliance was in 2016 one of the first to support Colin Kaepernick, another black quarterback who has had to wait for the significance of his deeds to be acknowledged by his sport. More than 12,000 people came out to Wrigley to see a much-hyped contest that ended in a scoreless tie. "No cabins were provided, nor were they given a place to sleep after reaching Hampton. Pollard was small, even for. Since this would be the second consecutive season on . Some 27 years before Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in baseball, Fritz Pollard was the best player for the first NFL champions in 1920. That achievement speaks volumes, because like Dallas, Memphis is known for some good BBQ. He is closing in on 1,700 runs and receptions while just starting his sixth season. But Fritz would get up laughing and smiling every time. He played and coached when, despite being the highest paid player in the league $1,500 a game he wasn't allowed to dresswith his team. It was one of many measures he'd take to avoid being targeted, verbally and physically, by fans and players alike, across the game's heartland of the American Northeast and Midwest. Many believe that the Cowboys just found their next kick returner. Im wondering what it will be this week after Elliott was good against the Chargers and Pollard was great. I never saw him angry.". [7] By the fall of 1920, he had begun to play for Akron, missing key Lincoln losses to Hampton (014) and Howard (042), much to the consternation of the alumni and administration. Is Dallas becoming unaffordable due to rising housing costs, inflation and stagnating pay? 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 . [27], Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 01:13, "Tony Pollard, Memphis , All Purpose Back", "Prep insider: All-district 16-AAA football teams", "Tony Pollard is AAC special teams player of the year; Five other Tigers earn all-conference honors", "2017 American Athletic Conference Football Postseason Honors", "Birmingham Bowl - Memphis vs Wake Forest Box Score, December 22, 2018", "Tony Pollard 2018 University of Memphis", "Memphis football's Tony Pollard declares for the NFL Draft", "Memphis' Tony Pollard added to Senior Bowl Roster", "Tony Pollard Draft and Combine Prospect Profile", "Tony Pollard, Memphis, WR, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football", "New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys September 8th, 2019", "Prescott, Cowboys get out of funk, ease past Dolphins 316", "Cowboys render coin toss mix-up moot, throttle Rams 4421", "2020 Dallas Cowboys Statistics & Players", "San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys December 20th, 2020", "Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers - September 19th, 2021", "New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys - October 10th, 2021", "2022 NFL season, Week 5: What We Learned from Sunday's games", "Updates: Tony Pollard Wins Weekly RB Award", "Cowboys RB Tony Pollard, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce highlight Players of the Week", "Source: RB Pollard undergoes surgery for ankle", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tony_Pollard_(American_football)&oldid=1141830404, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 01:13. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [1] He helped the team reach the playoffs, while making over 1,200 receiving yards, 20 touchdowns and being named All-District 16-AAA. Fritz Pollard blazed a trail as the first Black coach in the NFL. "Id look at themand grin," Pollard said in a 1974 interview with NFL Films. It was named one of the 10 best BBQ restaurants in the city of Memphis by the Travel Channel. ", Tony Dungy, who became the first Black coach to win a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, said this month the Flores suitmight be "just the tip of the iceberg. "Why?" 100 years ago, the NFL took its first baby steps in Indiana, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. He had waited65 years from his hiringas an NFL coach to see if he had pioneered a change. The manager appeared, and Pollard got a room. Pollard, one of two Black players in the NFL and thefirst Black coach, would suit up in his car outside the football field or go to a nearby cigar store where the owner let him use a back room. "It was a literal fight," she says. They taught Fritz that he could never retaliate, despite the provocation he was sure to face. Still, many were motivated to see them by the opportunity for abuse. Speaking of food, the running back's family owns a restaurant called "Pollard's BBQ" located in Memphis. 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. follow. Five of the 11 men who had agreed to ban black players were, however. The new owner of a team there had got in touch with him. [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. Jan 12, 2023. In 1923, while playing for the Hammond Pros, he became the first African American quarterback in the league. But not all teams were integrated until Bobby Mitchell joined the Washington (Commanders) in 1962. 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. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. He also founded an all-black football team in Harlem that was unsuccessful in luring local NFL teams to play exhibition games. He was the first African American selected to a backfield position on Walter Camps All-America team (1916) and the first African American head coach in the National Football League (NFL), with the Akron Pros in 1921. Pollard took the matter into his own hands and created an all-Black football team, the Chicago Black Hawks, in 1928, challengingNFL teams to exhibition games. There are twoBlack head coachesin the NFL in 2022. Born Frederick Douglass Pollard in 1894 - after the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass - his nickname Fritz reflected Rogers Park's predominantly German make-up. The faces inside the helmets may look different than they did a century ago, but the team owners are still mostly all white men who together wield an often uncompromising power in the game. He founded a newspaper, and set up an investment fund and a company trading coal. When Pollard died in 1986, after careers with a talent agency, tax consultingand film and music production,his obituary noted he was still the league's only head Black coach. The following year Pollard was the star player for the Akron Pros, who won the first NFL championship. USA TODAY NFL insider Mike Jones breaks down former Miami Dolphins' head coach Brian Flores' lawsuit against the NFL, Giants and Dolphins. With his last words, spoken to his family in 2003, he said:. "The league was challenged with a report showing that, essentially, African-Americans were the last hired and first fired," says Duru, who worked with the FPA from its inception. 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. . It doesn't force any teamto hire a Black head coach. "The waiter took everybody's order but Pollard's. Things have not been much different in 100 years, said Solomon. Fritz Pollard, an All-America halfback from Brown University was a pro football pioneer in more ways than one. Courtesy of Brown University, Providence, R.I. (1894-1986). In fact, he helped it change. Three years later, the National Football League hired its second black head coach, Arthur "Art" Shell of the Oakland ( California) Raiders. He was almost always in the game -- as quarterback, running back and often doing punt returns and kickoff returns. He has a better burst. January 26, 2023 11:18 am CT. Discover short videos related to tony pollard throne on TikTok. There was one Black head coach in the NFL in 1921. Are you an NFL rookie? Additionally, Pollard ranks ninth in positive EPA play percentage, meaning he is . Watch quarterback Jalen Hurts' best plays from his biggest games for the Philadelphia Eagles as he prepares to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday's Super Bowl. As he walked on, he wouldheartaunts shouted from the stands. Pollard was carted to the X-ray room with an air cast on his leg. He never played quarterback again. Fritz was gifted with speed and elusiveness but he was small. "This is a man who paved the way, who showed there is hope. As well as being a running back, he was a defensive back, receiver, kicker, punt returner and kick-off returner. 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. So that played a big part too. In his freshman year, he was the only black player in the Ivy League and Brown's win over Yale saw them earn an invite to the Rose Bowl in January 1916. Pollard attended Albert G. Lane Manual Training High School in Chicago, also known as "Lane Tech," where he played football, baseball, and ran track. If so, watch our guide to the key rules, the player positions and the ultimate aim of the game. Is Dallas becoming unaffordable due to rising housing costs, inflation and stagnating pay? Are we to believe that youre really doing exhaustive searches, trying to uncover the best coaches, but only two out of the last 20 have been African Americans?". He didn't get to see it. 3:09. 1. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. By Farrell Evans. Pollard's wins above replacement also ranks third in the NFL, behind Jacobs and Nick Chubb. . His is a story for too long left untold. Fritz III's daughter Meredith Kaye Russell, born in 1988, also joined the cause, helping with research and acting as her father's secretary. Marshall was an avowed segregationist who owned the Washington football franchise from its inception in 1932 to his death in 1969. The Yale supporters also turned 'Bye Bye Blackbird', a popular song of the day, into a racially abusive anthem. 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. Subjects: Do you find this information helpful? IE 11 is not supported. Hes quicker. "Hammond and Milwaukee were bad, but never as bad as Akron. "If anybody had the right to be angry about the way he was treated it was my grandfather, but he never showed it," says Fritz III. "He's the one that taught everybody how to barbeque.". ", In February 2021, Dungywrote an open letter to NFL ownersabout the league's lack of minority hires. Pollard wanted the same thing. He called the team Redskins in 1933, a racial slur that was only. Its possible the head coach simply believes that. Because my son proved me wrong.". Pollard's legacy lives on through his grandson Fritz D Pollard III (and children Meredith Pollard Russell and Marcus Pollard) his other grandson Dr Stephen Towns and granddaughter Stephanie Towns. [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. "Offensive co-ordinators tend to come from quarterbacks, and head coaches from offensive co-ordinators, so the pipeline is thin for African-Americans because of discrimination against black players in so-called 'thinking' positions.". "Times got hard, he let me skip a payment here, skip a payment there and train them anyway," Tarrance said. Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 May 11, 1986) was an American football player and coach. Solomon said. But I was there to play football. Coming out of the Reconstruction era which followed the American Civil War, the Pollards wanted to live free from the racial oppression of segregation laws in the south and had moved from Oklahoma in 1886. Get the latest news. None of this is meant to discredit Elliott. On November 19, 1922, Pollard and Paul Robeson lead the Badgers to victory over the great Jim Thorpe and his Oorang Indians. [2], Pollard accepted a football scholarship from the University of Memphis. During 19181919, he led the team to a victorious season defeating Howard University's Bisons 130[5] in the annual Thanksgiving classic as well as Hampton University (70) on November 9, 1918, and teams of military recruits at Camp Dix (190) on November 2, 1918,[6] and Camp Upton (410).