Jolley was also a Native American. He was a member of the Wyandotte Nation. This made him eligible to join the NFL's Oorang Indians. The Indians were a team based in LaRue, Ohio, composed only of Native Americans, and coached by Jim Thorpe.[1]
In 1929 Jolley coached the Bisons in a season that saw the team winning just one game. Afterwards the team finally folded for good, making Jolley the franchise's last coach.[2] Jolley coached the Dodgers in the first ever NFL night game held on Wednesday September 24, 1930, in Portsmouth, Ohio. The Dodgers lost game 12-0 to the Portsmouth Spartans, the forerunners to the modern day Detroit Lions.[3]
Death[]
Monday, October 18, 1948, the Ironton Tanks had a reunion. At that reunion Eric Shattuck, a former Tank player, read the list of deceased Tanks as the crowd. Jolley was on the list. A date of death for Jolley has been found. According to the Find A Grave website and his Ohio death certificate, the early football star died from carcinoma on August 26, 1948, in Marietta, Ohio. He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Whitman, Robert L. (1984). Jim Thorpe and the Oorang Indians: The N.F.L.'s Most Colorful Franchise. [Mount Gilead, OH]: Marion County Historical Society. OCLC717439558.