Fritz_Pollard,_Jr.

Fritz Pollard Jr.

Fritz Pollard Jr.

American hurdler (1915–2003)

Fritz Pollard Jr. (February 18, 1915 – February 14, 2003) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 110 metre hurdles, winning a bronze model at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

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Biography

Pollard's father was Fritz Pollard Sr., the first African American head coach in the National Football League.[1] While a student at the University of North Dakota, Pollard Jr. was a running back for the football team. He was "picked All North Central Conference in 1937 and 1938, and was a Collier's Magazine Little All-America selection in football in 1938."[2] He also competed as a member of the university's varsity boxing team. Pollard competed for the United States in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin in the 110 meter hurdles, winning the bronze medal.[3] In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Pollard, was documented in the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.[4]

As a student, Pollard majored in physical education, joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and received his bachelor's degree in 1939, becoming one of the first two African Americans to graduate from the University of North Dakota.[1][5] He went on to earn a law degree from John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He also served in the U.S. Army as a special services officer during World War II.[2] After a stint working in the Chicago parks and recreation department, he became a Foreign Service officer and retired in 1981 as the director of the State Department's overseas schools for US citizens.[2]

Pollard Jr. was predeceased by his daughter Cheryl Pollard and survived by his son Fritz D. Pollard III (1955-2022),[6] and two grandchildren Meredith Kaye Russell and Marcus Stephan Pollard.

References

  1. [1]
    "Alpha Athletes at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  2. [2]
    University of North Dakota
  3. [3]
    "Frederick Pollard Jr., 87; Medalist in 110-Meter Hurdles in '36 Olympics" Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  4. [4]
    Henderson, Odie (2016-08-05). "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice movie review (2016)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  5. [5]
    Slater, Robert Bruce (1996). "The First Black Graduates of the Nation's 50 Flagship State Universities". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (13): 82. doi:10.2307/2963173. ISSN 1077-3711 – via JSTOR.
  6. [6]
    https://www.staufferfuneralhome.com/obituaries/fritz-pollard-iii

Greek bibliography: Andreou,Evangelos: "The star of champion shone..." Ed. EUARCE 2011 ("Frederick "Fritz" Pollard" p.30) Ευάγγελος Ανδρέου, Το αστέρι του πρωταθλητή άναψε... / ο βαλκανιονίκης του μεσοπολέμου Γιάννης Σκιαδάς, EUARCE 2011 ISBN 978-960-99566-0-4 ("Φρεντερίκ Πολάρντ/Frederick "Fritz" Pollard" σ.30)

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