Who really was the first black quarterback?
Who was the first black quarterback in the NFL? That’s a very interesting question and the answer seems to depend a lot on who you ask. You’ll hear names like Briscoe and Harris, Williams and Thrower, but were any of them really the first black QB? Let’s do some research.
Some are convinced that the correct answer is the one and only Willie Thrower. He played for the Chicago Bears in mid-October 1953. It was his first and his last game. He never appeared in another game and it would be 15 years before another African American played in a professional game. But is this historically correct? Others think it was a man named Joe Guilliam, known as Jefferson Street Joe not until the early ’70s. Joe even has a web page dedicated to him with this honor and both are often credited with the title of first black quarterback. But had there really been no one before these players?
Due to racial attitudes at the time, it appears that while black players were allowed to play, not many were awarded starting positions, and while all of the players mentioned above have their roles in quarterback history. blacks, and it is accurate to say that Briscoe was the first to start a game. He played QB for the Denver Broncos in 1968. Timelines and history tell us that it wouldn’t be until 1974 for a black player to start a playoff game. His name was James Harris and he played for the Los Angeles Rams. It would be fourteen years before Doug Williams was the first to start and win a championship for the Washington Redskins in 1988.
What is the best and most accurate answer? The correct answer would have to be none of the above and the correct answer goes back well beyond common misconceptions.
In fact, Fritz Pollard is the correct answer. He played quarterback in the early 1920s for a team known as the Hammond Pros. Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard was born in 1894 in Rogers Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He was one of eight children. Pollard graduated from Lane High School in Chicago, where he ran track and then went on to play college football at Brown University. In 1915, as a freshman, he led Brown to the Rose Bowl vs. Washington State. He was also the first African American to play in a Rose Bowl. Among other accomplishments in the spring of 1916, he set a world record in the low hurdles for the Brown University track team, qualifying for the Olympic team. Also in 1916 he led Brown to an 8-1 record with 12 touchdowns. He was the first African-American head coach in the NFL. He also organized the first interracial All-Star Game in Chicago to showcase African-American players. “Fritz” Pollard died in 1986 at the age of 92.
