American Football Database
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Al Jolley
Date of birth: September 29, 1899
Place of birth: Onaga, Kansas
Date of death: August 26, 1948(1948-08-26) (aged 48)
Place of death: Marietta, Ohio
Career information
Position(s): Tackle
Organizations
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com
Coaching stats at Pro Football Reference

Alvin Jay Jolley (September 29, 1899 – August 26, 1948) was a professional football player and coach. He played for the Cleveland Tigers, Akron Pros, Dayton Triangles, Oorang Indians, Buffalo Bisons, Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cleveland Indians. He was a coach for the Bisons and the Cincinnati Reds. He also played for the Ironton Tanks of the Ohio League.

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]

Coaching[]

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.

Head coaching record[]

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
BUF 1929 1 7 1 .167 10th in NFL
BUF Total 1 7 1 .167
CIN 1933 0 3 0 .000 4th in NFL Western
CIN Total 0 3 0 .000
NFL Total[4] 1 10 1 .125
Total 1 10 1 .125

References[]

Additional sources[]

  • 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. OCLC 717439558.
  • Uniform Numbers of the NFL
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