Bobby Marshall, Fritz Pollard
Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard and Robert Wells "Bobby" Marshall became the first African-American athletes in what would become the National Football League in 1920.
Fritz Pollard went to Brown University and majored in chemistry(!). He played halfback on Brown's football team (becoming the first black player for Brown), which went to the 1916 Rose Bowl. He played pro football (running back) for the Akron Pros and became a co-head coach in 1921. He also played for the Milwaukee Badgers, Hammond Pros, Gilberton Cadamounts, Union Club of Phoenixville and Providence Steam Rollers.
In the 1930s, he founded his own professional football team, the Brown Bombers, but the Depression ended their run. Pollard left football and went into other ventures.
Bobby Marshall played football for the University of Minnesota and went on to play professional for the Rock Island Independents, Minneapolis Marines and the Duluth Kelleys.
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