Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will wear a commemorative patch honoring Fritz Pollard, the NFL’s first Black head coach, for the team’s season-opening game against the Dolphins on Sunday, according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe.
Pollard became the NFL’s first Black head coach in 1921 when he was hired by the Akron Pros, making him a player-coach. The 1921 season was Pollard’s lone season as head coach of the Pros.
Pollard played college football at Brown University, where he became the school’s first Black player.