Black History Month Presentation- Fritz Pollard, The Forgotten Man

<p>Fritz &nbsp;Pollard grew up in Rogers Park, Illinois, a largely white suburb of &nbsp;Chicago. The seventh of eight children, young Fritz experienced racism &nbsp;first hand and learned from his family how to pick his battles and &nbsp;subdue his emotions in order to achieve his goals in a predominantly &nbsp;white world. A three-sport athlete at Lane Tech High, Pollard had &nbsp;notions of attending Dartmouth to follow in the footsteps of his older &nbsp;brother Leslie. But fate intervened. During a stopover in Providence in &nbsp;January 1913, Fritz had his first view of the Van Wickle gates sparkling &nbsp;in the sun; his career at Brown had begun.</p> <p>During the 1915 and 1916 Brown football seasons, Pollard achieved &nbsp;legendary status, compiling “firsts” as frequently as he gained first &nbsp;downs. The first black to play in the Rose Bowl (1916), Fritz was also &nbsp;named to Walter Camp’s All America Team, and was the first African &nbsp;American in Camp’s backfield. Nicknamed “the human torpedo,” Pollard had &nbsp;almost single-handedly defeated Yale and Harvard (Brown’s first win &nbsp;over the Crimson) in 1916. The Bruins were the first college team to &nbsp;defeat both Ivy powerhouses in the same season. For his exploits at &nbsp;Brown, Pollard was elected to the National College Football Hall of Fame &nbsp;in 1954 — the first African American ever chosen.</p> <p>As a professional player, Pollard continued to garner “firsts” in &nbsp;spite of the overt racism of the period. He was among the first &nbsp;African-Americans in the APFL and NFL leagues and, along with Jim &nbsp;Thorpe, was the major gate attraction. A Black man playing football in a &nbsp;predominantly white environment was a novelty in the 1920s. Fritz &nbsp;Pollard was the first African American to play on a championship team &nbsp;(1920), as well as the first Black quarterback (1923) and coach (1919).</p> <p>Pollard’s efforts on behalf of African American athletes were &nbsp;Herculean. He organized Black teams such as the Chicag