The NFL as we know is it is almost 60% black, but there was a time when the NFL had only white players. Back in 1920, they allowed their first two Black American players into the American Professional football Association (later renamed the National Football League), Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall. They were the league’s only Black players that year. Eleven more would play between 1921 and 1933 before an unwritten rule among owners — veiled as a “gentleman’s agreement” — kept Black players out of the league until 1946.
Bobby attended the University of Minnesota, where he was also the first Black athlete. He played multiple sports during his time and becoming one of the greatest football players in the school's history. He became a lawyer and the state’s grain commissioner.
At age 40, Bobby became the first Black American to join the American Processional Football Association, on the Rock Island Independents. His team won 48-0 in the first game played in league history.
He played in a total of 315 high school, college and professional football games. Of those 315 games, only 12 were with teams that were in the NFL at the time. He played football until he was 56, baseball until he was 60 and softball until 65.
Two weeks after Bobby joined the league, Fritz Pollard joined as well. He was a running back for the Akron Pros. The Pros went undefeated to win the league's first championship in 1920. The next year, Fritz was named co-coach of the team, becoming the first Black American head coach in the NFL.
During his football career, he played and sometimes coached for four different NFL teams.
In 1928, he organized and coached the Chicago Black Hawks, an all-African American professional team based in Chicago The Black Hawks played against white teams around Chicago, but enjoyed their greatest success by scheduling exhibition games against West Coast teams during the winter months. From 1929 until 1932, they become one of the more popular teams on the West Coast until the Depression caused the team to fold.
While Bobby and Fitz found success during their time in the league, it wasn't always easy. They became targets of racism from fans and opposing teams. For their own safety, Bobby started dressing in the Akron owner’s nearby cigar store and would often be driven by car to midfield moments before kickoff to avoid bottles being thrown at him. Fritz would roll over onto his back as soon as he was tackled with his cleats up as a defensive method to kick players off him if needed.