An original in-action photograph of Fritz Pollard, the Jackie Robinson of football, carrying the pigskin in a Brown University Freshman football game, circa 1916. Pollard was a trailblazer in many ways; he was the first African-American to play in the Rose bowl, and the second to be named an All-American in college football. After college, he led the Akron Pros of the American American Professional Football League (APFA) to a championship in 1920, and was named head coach in 1921 (he continued to QB for the Pros as well). The APFA was renamed the NFL in 1922, making Pollard the first African-American coach in NFL history. Pollard coached Akron until 1926, and went on to coach NFL teams in Indiana and Milwaukee. He retired from football in 1937 to pursue a career in business, remaining the only Black to have coached in the NFL until the 1990s. The offered photograph is in beautiful EX-MT condition with sharp contrast and nice clarity. It is inscribed in pencil on the verso, and measures 8 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches.