Since this would be the second consecutive season on . Yet he welcomed Pollard with a highly abusive racial slur, saying he was going to kill him. And here I was, playing and coaching and pulling down the highest salary in pro football. It was a German-immigrant part of town. On the train out west to Los Angeles, even black porters refused to wait on him. Thirty percent of assistant NFL coaches are Black. He was the school's first black athlete a triple threat when it came to sports in football, track and boxing. Days later, Pollard played in abenefit game inPittsburgh and was greeted with a hero's welcome. Instead, he let his play speak for itself. Newspaper articles at the time, who described Pollard as a "colored" coach, praised his stellar football IQ. Five of the 11 men who had agreed to ban black players were, however. In 1981 Brown University conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) [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. 128th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, Pollard finds himself in the midst of an ever-important contract year. On the train coming out, Pollard hadn't been allowed to sit with his teammates in the dining car. Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two African-American players in the NFL in 1920. That achievement speaks volumes, because like Dallas, Memphis is known for some good BBQ. If they think they can't do something or belittle themselves. "My granddaddy barbequed at home," said Tarrance Pollard, Tony's father. Marshall was an avowed segregationist who owned the Washington football franchise from its inception in 1932 to his death in 1969. In the 1930s, Pollard founded his own professional football team, the Brown Bombers. At the hotel, Assistant Coach Bill Sprackling demanded to see the manager. "The first was Fritz Pollard. His mother was Native American, his father an African American who boxed professionally during the Civil War. 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. We look at why having two black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl is such a big moment for the NFL, and profile star men Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. The restaurant comes highly rated, too. Pollard established theNew York Independent News, the first weekly black tabloid. The Dallas Cowboys selectedTony Pollard in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. When the Los Angeles Raiders hired Art Shell as head coach in 1989, he was asked in a live broadcast how it felt to be the NFL's first black coach. It's cheaper. Football pioneer Walter Camp called Pollard "one of the greatest runners these eyes have ever seen."[1]. [20] Overall, he appeared in all 16 games, of which he started two, in the 2020 season. "You just lived with it. Since that letter, Dungy says"not a lot has changed. 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. This should have surprised no one. He was honoured instead at a separate banquet held by a local black business association. The US summer of 1919 was known as the Red Summer. [5] He led the nation with a school-record 40-yard average per kickoff return (22 for 881 yards) and four returns for touchdowns. "They couldn't find anything so I said 'you're looking in the wrong papers'," says Fritz III. [8] Paul Robeson was enlisted by Lincoln's alumni to coach the Thanksgiving 1920 game against Howard. On special teams, he totaled 2,616 kick return yards and seven touchdowns. "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?'" They believe that Black head coaches are not fit to be leaders of men.". Omissions? But the hiring didn't break down barriers. 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. Pollard was not the first black athlete paid to play football, but he was the first to star in the confederation of Midwestern franchises that became the National Football League. Still, many were motivated to see them by the opportunity for abuse. American gridiron football player and coach Fritz Pollard helped pave the way for African Americans in the sport by becoming the first African American selected to a backfield position on Walter Camp's All-America team (1916) and, five years later, by becoming the first African American head coach of a National Football League . At that time Pollard was 69 and the owner of several business ventures. If the field was a quagmire, his face would be held in the water. A year ago when Pollard averaged 4.3 to Zeke's 4.0, and when Pollard got a late-season start against San Francisco and ran for 69 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries, it was because the . "All of us got played by the NFL," he said. follow. 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. Your email address will not be published. That's something that was drummed into me.". He touched the ball on 16 of his 21 snaps Sunday. They'd then verify the information. Tony isn't the only Pollard living his dream. The figure to keep Pollard from becoming a free agent is $10.1 million. His imprint on this issue is felt daily through the work of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, an organization that advocates for diversity and equality in coaching, scouting and the front office in the NFL. NFL to consider rule change after RB injury. Pollard and Co. Fritz III gave his permission to name it the Fritz Pollard Alliance (FPA). When the clerk refused, Sprackling pounded on the desk bell and shouted, "If there isn't a room for Fritz Pollard, none of us wants one." [11], Pollard was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (128th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. As well as being a running back, he was a defensive back, receiver, kicker, punt returner and kick-off returner. 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. There was one Black head coach in the NFL in 1921 when a tiny, incrediblyfast running back named Fritz Pollard was hired to coach theAkron Pros at the same time he played for the team. 3:09. 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. 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. 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. Pollard attended Albert G. Lane Manual Training High School in Chicago, also known as "Lane Tech," where he played football, baseball, and ran track. Alternate titles: Frederick Douglass Pollard, Sr. Regents Professor of History at Lamar University. 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. Pollard's team won most of those games, said Towns. 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. Then came a telegram that changed everything. From there, Black players joined the league and began dominating on the field. Nonetheless, in the opening week of the NFL season, there were four black head coaches, one black general manager and nine black starting quarterbacks. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). He also saw how it changed between then. He was almost always in the game -- as quarterback, running back and often doing punt returns and kickoff returns. He has amassed 1,279 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns while sharing load with Elliott. Yet, Pollard's humble, quiet ways never changed. His is a story for too long left untold. Pollard becamethe first Black man to play in the Rose Bowl. Additionally, Pollard ranks ninth in positive EPA play percentage, meaning he is . 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. 1. "I don't need to get hit every Sunday. One of his team-mates, Irving Fraser, later told Pollard's biographer Jay Berry: "When he was tackled, they'd all pile on him and see if they could make him quit. "Pollard has grown tosuch heights of fame that today he is the athlete hero of his race.". And yet, still very few NFL fans have even heard of Pollard. Bleacher crowds and outside towns jeerhim and taunthim about his color," read anarticle in the Akron Evening Times December 5, 1920. He wanted the trails he blazed to change the future of the NFL. Pollard was small, even for. [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]. 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. That's 4.8%. They had to cut to a commercial and then my phone just blew up with people saying 'they're talking about your grandfather'.". 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.. "Sometimes I sit at home and say, 'I can't believe this,' Torria said. "The big contrast now is absolutely how crazy big the NFL is as a business, billions and billions of dollars," he said. The following 1920 season was the first for the American Professional Football Association - renamed the NFL in 1922 - and the Akron Pros went undefeated, outscoring their opponents 151-7. He became their player-coach the following season. Is Dallas becoming unaffordable due to rising housing costs, inflation and stagnating pay? Pollard felt that he never received the credit or recognition for his contributions to the early years of the NFL. His white teammates had high respect for Pollard and often stuck up for him as he faced discrimination. 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. For decades the team owners claimed there was no unwritten agreement. In 1923, while playing for the Hammond Pros, he became the first African American quarterback in the league. Pollard asked to run the play twice more and scored two more touchdowns. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Pollard's BBQ is back open on Sundaysbut you better have your Cowboys gear on. As a football player, entertainment promoter and social activist, Pollard might have applauded the leagues partnership with Jay-Z and his entertainment company to use musical events to build community relations. The opposing teams gave me hell too.". Because my son proved me wrong.". There are twoBlack head coachesin the NFL in 2022. And maybe this will simply be like 2006, when it was clear all season that Marion Barber was more productive than Julius Jones, when Barber scored 10 more touchdowns and averaged almost a yard per carry more than Jones but Barber never started until the team got into the playoffs. 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. When an opposing linebacker greeted Pollard with a deeply offensive racial slur, he responded by waltzing past him and into the end zone. Eventually the hotel relented. A memorial for Marshall outside Washington's stadium was removed in June, along with all other references to him, after it was spray-painted with the words "change the name". Gibbons went on to describe an incident that happened atan Akron restaurant as Pollard sat with a group of teammates. For the game at Yale, Pollard had been smuggled into the stadium via a separate gate. It was the first time a team had beaten them both in the same season, and Pollard won each game almost single-handedly. The No. The next year, he was named co-head coach as he continued to play for the Pros. I had to duck the rocks and the fellas trying to hurt me.". The Life And Career Of Steve Sabol (Story), The Fascinating Life Of Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder (Story), What Happened To NFL Referee Mike Carey? After he was let go by Akron (which had changed its name to the Indians) in 1926, Pollard continued to promote integration in professional football as a coach of the barnstorming Chicago Black Hawks (192832) and the New York Brown Bombers (193537). Pollard wanted the same thing. The former Memphis Tiger first stepped on a football field when he was four years old. Now, the power of his legacy is growing through an organisation that bears his name. Its a safe bet that Elliotts numbers will go up, and that he will eventually get so many more chances than Pollard that he will pass him in yards. But its unlikely Zeke will get beyond 4.5 yards per carry, where he finished in 2019. They lost the game through lack of rest." "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. And, his grandson said, 100 years after Pollard coached in the NFL and 36 years after his death, he is sure Pollard would have wanted more from the league he helped build. "It's terribly ironic that we live in a time that Fritz Pollard's own coaching experience in the NFL isn't really that different from today," said Aron Solomon, chief legal analyst with Today's Esquire, which provides comprehensive legal analysis on news stories of the day. degree on Pollard, recognizing his achievements as athlete and leader. Then they leapt from their chairs, grabbed the waiter and proceeded to artistically maul him until he consented to wait on Pollard. 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. I was never interested in socializing with whites. That's how good the 5-9 Pollard was. It was time for his family to take up the story. "We thought that meant the NFL was out tohire more Black head coaches. [6], As a junior, even though he shared the backfield with Darrell Henderson, he totaled 78 carries for 552 yards (7.1-yard avg. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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. Then in November 1923, after switching teams, he played an entire game at quarterback for the Hammond Pros. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves and say, 'Is this real? How to get into American football a sport for all shapes and sizes that requires both mental and physical skills. "It was a literal fight," she says. Black players began dominatingthe NFL. ), ten touchdowns with one kickoff return for a touchdown. In 1937, Fritz Pollard retired from pro football and pursued a career in business. In 2022, with the Steelers' Mike Tomlin and recently-named Texans head coach Lovie Smith, that percentage is 6.3%. He has a better burst. USA TODAY NFL insider Mike Jones breaks down former Miami Dolphins' head coach Brian Flores' lawsuit against the NFL, Giants and Dolphins. ", "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. . 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.