Jazz Byrd
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1904 |
| Died | December 9, 1994 (aged 90) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1922–1924 | Lincoln (PA) |
| Basketball | |
| c. 1924 | Lincoln (PA) |
| Track | |
| c. 1924 | Lincoln (PA) |
| Positions | Running back (football) Guard (basketball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1926–1929 | Florida A&M |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1926–1930 | Florida A&M |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 3–13–2 |
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Franz A. "Jazz" Byrd (c. 1904 – December 9, 1994) was an American college football player and coach and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee. He served as the head football coach at Florida A&M University from 1926 to 1929, compiling a record of 3–13–2.
College playing career
[edit | edit source]Byrd played college football at Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania, helping the Lions to an 8–0–1 record in 1924 in which they outscored their opponents 306–3.[1]
Byrd was revered by the sportswriters of the Black press of his era and beyond as the greatest open-field runner at Black colleges. His performances in the annual Thanksgiving Day games against Howard University in 1922, 1923, and 1924 were widely covered and celebrated in the African-American press. Byrd was frequently referred to as the equal of Red Grange, the famed University of Illinois running back of the same era.[2]
College coaching career
[edit | edit source]He served as the head football coach at Florida A&M University from 1926 to 1929.[3]
Later life
[edit | edit source]Byrd was employed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), before being named the first African American state income tax collector.[1] He died at the age of 90, on December 9, 1994, at Riverside Extended Pavilion Care in Wilmington, Delaware.[4]
Head coaching record
[edit | edit source]| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida A&M Rattlers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1926–1929) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Florida A&M | 1–3 | 1–1 | ||||||
| 1927 | Florida A&M | 2–3 | 0–3 | ||||||
| 1928 | Florida A&M | 0–4 | 0–4 | ||||||
| 1929 | Florida A&M | 0–3–2 | 0–3 | ||||||
| Florida A&M: | 3–13–2 | 1–11 | |||||||
| Total: | 3–13–2 | ||||||||
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- 1994 deaths
- American football running backs
- Guards (basketball)
- Florida A&M Rattlers and Lady Rattlers athletic directors
- Florida A&M Rattlers football coaches
- Lincoln Lions football players
- Lincoln Lions men's basketball players
- Lincoln Lions men's track and field athletes
- African-American coaches of American football
- African-American track and field athletes
- American men track and field athletes
- African-American college athletic directors in the United States
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- 20th-century American sportsmen