Fritz Pollard Frederick Douglass " Fritz " Pollard ( January 27 , 1894 – May 11 , 1986 ) was the first African American head coach in the National Football League ( NFL ) . Pollard along with Bobby Marshall were the first two African American players in the NFL in 1920 . Sportswriter Walter Camp ranked Pollard as " one of the greatest runners these eyes have ever seen . " Early life . Pollard was born in Chicago on January 27 , 1894 . He attended Lane Tech High School where he played football , baseball , and ran track . Pollard attended Brown University , majoring in chemistry . Pollard played half - back on the Brown football team , which went to the 1916 Rose Bowl . He became the first black to be named to the Walter Camp All - America team . He later played pro football with the Akron Pros , the team he would lead to the NFL ( APFA ) championship in 1920 . In 1921 , he became the co - head coach of the Akron Pros , while still maintaining his roster position as running back . He also played for the Milwaukee Badgers , Hammond Pros , Gilberton Cadamounts , Union Club of Phoenixville and Providence Steam Roller . Some sources indicate that Pollard also served as co - coach of the Milwaukee Badgers with Budge Garrett for part of the 1922 season . He also coached the Gilberton Cadamounts , a non - NFL team . In 1923 and 1924 , he served as head coach for the Hammond Pros . Pollard , along with all nine of the black players in the NFL at the time , were removed from the league at the end of the 1926 season , never to return again . He spent some time organizing all - black barnstorming teams , including the Chicago Black Hawks in 1928 and the Harlem Brown Bombers in the 1930s . Pollard coached Lincoln University ( Pennsylvania ) ' s football team during the 1918 to 1920 seasons and served as athletic director of the school ' s World War I era Students ' Army Training Corps . During 1918 - 1919 , he led the team to a victorious season defeating Howard University ' s Bisons 13 - 0 in the annual Thanksgiving classic as well as Hampton ( 7 - 0 ) on November 9 , 1918 and teams of military recruits at Camp Dix ( 19 - 0 ) on November 2 , 1918 and Camp Upton ( 41 - 0 ) . By the fall of 1920 , however , he had begun to play for Akron and missed key contests with Hampton and Howard . Much to Lincoln ' s alumni and administration ' s consternation , Lincoln ' s team was defeated 14 - 0 against Hampton and 42 - 0 against Howard . Paul Robeson was enlisted by Lincoln ' s alumni to coach the Thanksgiving 1920 game against Howard . Pollard later criticized Lincoln ' s administration , saying they had hampered his ability to coach and had refused to provide adequate travel accommodations for the team . " Prior to the Hampton game , the team was compelled to go to Hampton by boat , sleeping on the decks and under portholes , " he told a reporter . " No cabins were provided , nor were they given a place to sleep after reaching Hampton . They lost the game through lack of rest . " He also blamed the school for not providing the proper equipment . " I , myself , bought and paid $ 200 out of my pocket for football shoes for the team . " He missed the 1920 Howard game , he said , because his Lincoln salary was so low that he was compelled to augment it with pay from Akron . Legacy . In 2005 , Fritz Pollard was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He appears as a free agent in Madden NFL 09 and Madden NFL 10 and is also a part of the game ' s Hall of Fame feature . Pollard ' s son Fritz Pollard , Jr . won the bronze medal for 110 m hurdles at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin . The Fritz Pollard Alliance , a group promoting minority hiring throughout the NFL , is named for Pollard . Brown University and the Black Coaches & Administrators co - sponsor the annual Fritz Pollard Award , which is presented to the college or professional coach chosen by the BCA as coach of the year .