Jazz Byrd
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 28, 1905 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 1994 (aged 89) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1922–1924 | Lincoln (PA) |
| Basketball | |
| c. 1924 | Lincoln (PA) |
| Track and field | |
| c. 1924 | Lincoln (PA) |
| Positions | Halfback (football) Guard (basketball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1926–1929 | Florida A&M |
| Baseball | |
| 1927–1929 | Florida A&M |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1926–1930 | Florida A&M |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 3–13–2 (football) |
Franz Alfred "Jazz" Byrd (June 28, 1905 – 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. Byrd was also the athletic director at Florida A&M from 1926 to 1930.
Early life and college career
Bryd was born on June 28, 1905, in Rochester, New York, to William A. and Alice Asmond (Cloud) Bryd. He attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City, New Jersey.[1]
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.[2] He 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 the Howard Bison 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 Illinois Fighting Illini halfback of the same era.[3]
Byrd graduated from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1925, and earned a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1926.[1]
College coaching career
Byrd served as the head football coach at Florida A&M University from 1926 to 1929.[4]
Later life
Byrd was employed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), before being named the first African American state income tax collector.[2] He died at the age of 90, on December 9, 1994, at Riverside Extended Pavilion Care in Wilmington, Delaware.[5]
Head coaching record
Football
| 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
- ^ a b Yenser, Thomas, ed. (1944). Who's Who in Colored America (6th ed.). Brooklyn, New York: Thomas Yenser. pp. 97–98. Retrieved January 4, 2026 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Franz "Jazz" Byrd". Lincoln Lions. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ Gaither, Steven J. (January 15, 2015). "The Black Red Grange: Black College Football's Forgotten Legend". HBCU Gameday. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ "Athletics History". Florida A&M Rattlers. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ "Frank 'Jazz' Byrd, 90, Lincoln U. star athlete". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 13, 1994. p. 22. Retrieved October 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "NCAA Statistics; Coach; Franz "Jazz" Byrd". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 4, 2026.