Fritz Pollard, Class of 1919

A legendary football player and a tireless advocate for African American athletes, Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard achieved a long list of firsts. While at Brown, he was the first African American player in the Rose Bowl. He went on to play professional football and was the first African American to play on a championship team (1920), first to quarterback an NFL team (1923), first to coach in the NFL (1919) and the first selected for the National College Football Hall of Fame (1954).