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CANTON, Ohio (AP) Two of the NFL's oldest old-timers will be on the final ballot for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next year.
Benny Friedman and Fritz Pollard, who played in the 1920s and 1930s, were chosen by a panel of Hall of Fame voters as the senior candidates to join 13 modern-era finalists for selection to the Hall's class of 2005. From three to six nominees will be chosen from that group of 15 in voting to be held in Jacksonville next. Feb. 5, the day before the Super Bowl.
Pollard is best known for being the league's first black head coach; he was made co-coach while playing for the Akron Pros in 1921. There wasn't another black coach in the league until Art Shell took over the Raiders in 1989.
At 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, Pollard led Brown University to the Rose Bowl in 1915 and turned pro in 1919, with the Akron team. It then joined the newly formed American Professional Football Association, later renamed the National Football League, and won the first championship with a record of 8-0-3.
Pollard, one of two blacks in the league, was one of its most feared running backs. He later played and sometimes coached for the Milwaukee Badgers, the Hammond Pros and the Providence Steam Rollers and for two independent teams in the Pennsylvania "Coal League."
In 1928, he organized and coached the Chicago Black Hawks, an all black team.
Friedman was a two-time All-American quarterback at Michigan.
He played for the Cleveland Bulldogs, Detroit Wolverines, New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1932 and 1934 and was a triple threat - a kicker, runner and passer. For many years, he was considered the game's best passer and was all-NFL in his first four seasons, completing more than half his passes in an era when 35 percent was considered good.
In 1928, Giants owner Tim Mara purchased the Detroit franchise so he could get Friedman - as much for his gate appeal as for his ability. His 20 touchdown passes in 1929 was an NFL record that stood for years.
