14 Facts About Fritz Pollard

Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was an American football player and coach.

Fritz Pollard then went to Brown University, majoring in chemistry.

Fritz Pollard played halfback on the Brown football team, which went to the 1916 Rose Bowl.

Fritz Pollard was the first African American football player at Brown.

Fritz Pollard became the first African American running back to be named to Walter Camp's All-America team.

Fritz Pollard coached Lincoln University's football team in Oxford, Pennsylvania during the 1918 to 1920 seasons and served as athletic director of the school's World War I era Students' Army Training Corps.

Fritz Pollard criticized Lincoln's administration, saying they had hampered his ability to coach and had refused to provide adequate travel accommodations for the team.

Fritz Pollard played professional football with the Akron Pros, the team he would lead to the APFA championship in 1920.

Fritz Pollard played for the Milwaukee Badgers, Hammond Pros, Gilberton Cadamounts, Union Club of Phoenixville and Providence Steam Roller.

Some sources indicate that Fritz Pollard served as co-coach of the Milwaukee Badgers with Budge Garrett for part of the 1922 season.

Fritz Pollard spent some time organizing all-African American barnstorming teams, including the Chicago Black Hawks in 1928 and the Harlem Brown Bombers in the 1930s.

The Depression ended the Brown Bombers' run in 1938, and Fritz Pollard went on to other ventures, including a talent agency, tax consulting, and film and music production.

Fritz Pollard produced Rockin' the Blues in 1956, which included such performers as Connie Carroll, The Harptones, The Five Miller Sisters, Pearl Woods, Linda Hopkins, Elyce Roberts, The Hurricanes, and The Wanderers.

Fritz Pollard published the New York Independent News from 1935 to 1942, purportedly the first African American-owned tabloid in New York City.