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Published Tuesday, February 02, 2010 in Sports

Pollard's pioneer work in NFL had major impact

Sports Column by Stuart Crosby

stuart@newnan.com

When Art Shell was named the head coach of the then-Los Angeles Raiders in the 1989, he was credited by some as being the first African-American coach in the National Football League since a gentleman named Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard during the 1920s.

Pollard, who played football at Northwestern as well as a couple of other places, was signed by the Akron Pros of the AFPA (the predecessor of the NFL) as a player in 1919 and helped lead them to an 8-0-3 record and the league title that season when he became the team's player-coach.

In 1922, the American Football Players Association changed their name to the present day NFL making Pollard, who had since moved to Milwaukee, the first African-American head coach making Shell the first since that time.

Pollard coached and played in the NFL until 1926 when the league ousted all black players and coaches, adopting a policy that would remain in effect until 1946 ironically when the players were reinstated.

For the first few years of this ban, Pollard started his own team which was called the Chicago Black Hawks and went barnstorming like the Negro Baseball Leagues did during that time playing teams in the Windy City.

The Black Hawks would also play exhibitions on the West Coast until 1933 when the Great Depression caused the club's demise despite the popularity they gained from those games.

After the Black Hawks folded, Pollard got out of football and went into the business world owning an investment firm as well as becoming a casting agent for a number of pictures.

Pollard would also enter the media world in 1935 when he founded the New York Independent News which was the first African-American newspaper in the United States.

After being a pioneer in football and in the newspaper business, Pollard returned to the entertainment world doing everything from managing a movie studio in Harlem to being a booking agent for nightclubs, radio stations and other mediums.

He would spend a few more years in the entertainment field when he changed jobs and became a tax consultant until his passing in 1986.

As a pioneer in the fledging NFL, Pollard was enshrined in the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 2005 where one grandson was a presenter while another delivered the acceptance speech on his behalf.

While he gained notoriety by his Hall of Fame induction and his historical achievements, "Fritz" Pollard would have an indirect impact on the landscape of the NFL.

During the recent coaching changes in the National Football League, a rule was enforced by an organization to make sure minorities had an opportunity to interview for jobs that become available.

The rule that makes sure teams interview minorities is known as the Rooney Rule which was proposed in 2002 by Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney and supervision of the rule's compliance is conducted by the Fritz Pollard Alliance.

Created in 2003, the FPA was formed to assist the NFL in the development of guidelines for minority candidates for coaching, scouts and front office personnel and to determine if the policies are being met when a change is made.

When the 2009 season came to an end, six franchises had permanent head coaches that were African-American.

This year the alliance actually gained some notice when the Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks made coaching changes.

And if their interview processes were above aboard and the FPA did sign off on them, the rest is history thanks in part to a guy who wanted to play the game of football.

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