1919 107 years ago Historical Events September 18

Fritz Pollard becomes the first African American to play professional football for a major team, the Akron Pros.

On September 18, in the year 1919, Fritz Pollard becomes the first African American to play professional football for a major team, the Akron Pros. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of September 18, one of 466 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was an American professional football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two African-American players in the NFL in 1920. He is also recognized as the first Black quarterback in NFL history, playing the position for the Hammond Pros in 1923. Football pioneer Walter Camp called Pollard "one of the greatest runners these eyes have ever seen."

Key Facts

  • This event took place on September 18, 1919 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 6 May 2026.

On This Date in History 466

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 18 Kesaria Abramidze, Georgian blogger, actress and model (born 1987)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 18 Nick Gravenites, American singer-songwriter (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 18 Salvatore Schillaci, Italian footballer (born 1964)
Notable Deaths 2023 Sep 18 Brereton C. Jones, American politician, 58th Governor of Kentucky (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2021 Sep 18 Jolidee Matongo, South African politician, 97th Mayor of Johannesburg (born 1975)
Notable Deaths 2021 Sep 18 Chris Anker Sørensen, Danish road bicycle racer (born 1984)
Notable Deaths 2020 Sep 18 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, United States Supreme Court justice (born 1933)
Historical Events 2018 Sep 18 Cannabis is legalized in South Africa, through a ruling of the Constitutional Court.
Historical Events 2017 Sep 18 Toy retail chain Toys "R" Us files for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Canada.
Notable Deaths 2017 Sep 18 Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Pakistani writer, poet, translator and playwright (born 1937)
Historical Events 2016 Sep 18 The 2016 Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India by terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed results in the deaths of nineteen…
Historical Events 2015 Sep 18 Two security personnel, 17 worshippers in a mosque, and 13 militants are killed during a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan…
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 18 Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean footballer and manager (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 18 James R. Houck, American astrophysicist and academic (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 18 Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentinian general and politician (born 1930)
Historical Events 2014 Sep 18 Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom, by 55% to 45%.
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 18 Milan Marcetta, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 18 Earl Ross, Canadian racing driver (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 18 Hirofumi Uzawa, Japanese economist and academic (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 18 Kenny Wheeler, Canadian-English trumpet player and composer (born 1930)
Selected Events 2014 Sep 18 Scotland (flag pictured) voted against independence from the United Kingdom.
Historical Events 2013 Sep 18 A VIA Rail train crashes into a double-decker bus at a train station in Ottawa, Canada, killing six people and…
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 18 Veliyam Bharghavan, Indian politician (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 18 Lindsay Cooper, English composer, bassoon and oboe player (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 18 Arthur Lamothe, French-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 18 Ken Norton, American boxer (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 18 Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German author and critic (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 18 Richard C. Sarafian, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 18 Santiago Carrillo, Spanish theorist and politician (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 18 Haim Hefer, Polish-Israeli songwriter and poet (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 18 Jack Kralick, American baseball player (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 18 Steve Sabol, American director and producer, co-founded NFL Films (born 1942)
Historical Events 2011 Sep 18 The 2011 Sikkim earthquake is felt across northeastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and southern Tibet.
Notable Deaths 2011 Sep 18 Jamey Rodemeyer, American teenage activist (born 1997)
Historical Events 2010 Sep 18 Philippe Croizon becomes the first quadruple amputee to swim across the English Channel.
Historical Events 2009 Sep 18 After 72 years on radio and television, CBS Television broadcasts the final episode of Guiding Light, the…
Notable Births 2008 Sep 18 Jackson Robert Scott, American actor
Notable Deaths 2008 Sep 18 Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2008 Sep 18 Mauricio Kagel, Argentinian-German composer and educator (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2008 Sep 18 Ron Lancaster, American-Canadian football player and coach (born 1938)
Historical Events 2007 Sep 18 Buddhist monks join anti-government protesters in Myanmar, starting what some call the Saffron Revolution.
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 18 Pepsi Tate, Welsh bass player and producer (born 1965)
Historical Events 2006 Sep 18 The CW Television Network debuts in the US, following the merger of UPN and The WB.
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 18 Edward J. King, American football player, lawyer, and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2005 Sep 18 Michael Park, English racing driver (born 1966)
Notable Deaths 2005 Sep 18 Clint C. Wilson, Sr., American cartoonist (born 1914)
Notable Births 2004 Sep 18 Santiago Castro, Argentine footballer
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 18 Norman Cantor, Canadian-American historian and educator (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 18 Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922)
Notable Births 2003 Sep 18 Aidan Gallagher, American actor and musician

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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