Slick Lollar
{{Short description|American football player (1905–1945)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Slick Lollar
| image = File:"Slick" Lollar, 1924.png
| caption = Lollar, {{circa}} 1924
| position = Back
| number = 14
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 200
| birth_date = {{birth date|1905|10|4}}
| birth_place = Alabama, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1945|5|7|1905|10|4}}
| death_place = Jamestown, North Dakota, U.S.
| college = Howard (1923–1926)
| high_school = Walker (AL)
| teams =
- Green Bay Packers ({{NFL Year|1928}})
- Oshkosh Badgers (1929)
| pastcoaching=
- Howard (1927)
Freshman coach
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 3
| highlights =
| pfr = LollSl20
}}
John Hope "Slick" Lollar (October 4, 1905 – May 7, 1945) was an American professional football back. He played college football for the Howard Bulldogs and later for one season in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers. He also was briefly a coach at Howard and after his football career he worked as a salesman in Wisconsin.
Early life
Lollar was born on October 4, 1905, in Alabama,{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/l/loll00200.html|website=Pro Football Archives|access-date=February 20, 2025|title=Slick Lollar Stats}} and grew up in Jasper, Alabama.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/166305197/|newspaper=The Birmingham News|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 1, 1924|page=18|title=Slick Lollar To Take End Against Jacksonville Gridders Saturday}} {{Open access}} He attended Walker High School in Jasper where he played football and acted as team captain for a time.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mountain-eagle/166305673/|newspaper=Daily Mountain Eagle|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 18, 1922|page=1|title=Walker High Wins Another}} {{Open access}} He played three seasons at Walker and was used as a quarterback and guard.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/166305932/|newspaper=The Birmingham News|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 16, 1923|page=5|title=Bulldogs Prepare For Opening Game}} {{Open access}} After high school, he enrolled at Howard College (now Samford University) and joined their football team in 1923.
Lollar played as a fullback for Howard in 1923 before becoming an end in 1924, being described as a "stellar" player and "one of the best defensive men on the team."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/166306728/|newspaper=The Birmingham News|via=Newspapers.com|date=November 18, 1924|author=Jordan, Turner|page=15|title=Howard Starts Week Off With Light Practice}} {{Open access}} He was reported to have played "brilliantly" by The Birmingham News.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/166307104/|newspaper=The Birmingham News|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 6, 1925|page=20|title=Bulldogs' New Punting Ace}} {{Open access}} He also started playing punter in 1925. The Birmingham News noted that in his first game at punter, "the 'Slicker' [came] through like [Doug] Wycoff," and that he also was moved to the backfield that game, and then "performed so well at cracking skulls coming through the line (blocking) that [coach] Gillem is going to keep him in the backfield." He was also described as being "a ton of brick" but "as slick as an eel."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/166307461/|newspaper=The Birmingham News|via=Newspapers.com|date=November 17, 1925|page=16|title=The Plunging "Slick"}} {{Open access}} He played his final season at Howard in 1926. In addition to football, Lollar also played at least two years for the baseball team and was elected president of his senior class at Howard.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mountain-eagle/166307883/|newspaper=Daily Mountain Eagle|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 13, 1926|page=7|title=John Lollar Elected President Howard Senior Class}} {{Open access}}
After Lollar graduated from Howard, he accepted a position as the coach of the school's freshman sports teams in 1927.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald/166307987/|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|via=Newspapers.com|date=January 19, 1928|page=14|title=Doc Newton And Slick Lollar To Quit Posts At Howard College}} {{Open access}} In 1927, prior to coaching Howard's freshman football team (the "Bullpups"), he attended a coaching school run by Knute Rockne to learn plays to use for his team.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/166308090/|newspaper=The Birmingham News|via=Newspapers.com|date=August 14, 1927|page=23|title=Lollar Will Use Rockne Plays In Work With 'Pups'}} {{Open access}} The team was reported to have initially been "mediocre" but turned their season into a "successful one" by defeating the freshman team of Birmingham–Southern. In August 1928, he briefly served as a football coach for a boys camp.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/166308658/|newspaper=The Birmingham News|via=Newspapers.com|date=August 22, 1928|page=15|title=Ex-Howard College Grid Star To Coach Boys At Camp Cosby}} {{Open access}}
Professional career
In July 1928, Lollar signed to play professional football for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/green-bay-press-gazette/166308793/|newspaper=Green Bay Press-Gazette|via=Newspapers.com|date=July 20, 1928|page=13|title=Packers Sign Up Fast Fullback}} {{Open access}} He was Howard's first NFL player.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/schools/samford/|website=Pro Football Reference|access-date=February 20, 2025|title=Samford Players/Alumni}} A report in the Green Bay Press-Gazette noted that he had received little publicity in college due to Howard's small size, but prominent sportswriter Walter Eckersall watched him play and declared he would have been an All-American if a member of a larger school. He made the team but was hospitalized for a week after suffering a knee injury in the season-opener against the Frankford Yellow Jackets.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/green-bay-press-gazette/166309039/|newspaper=Green Bay Press-Gazette|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 24, 1928|page=11|title=Lollar Is Injured}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/green-bay-press-gazette/166309105/|newspaper=Green Bay Press-Gazette|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 3, 1928|page=21|title=Around Town}} {{Open access}} He later returned and appeared in two further games for the Packers, neither as a starter, as the team compiled a record of 6–4–3, fourth in the NFL.{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/1928nflgb.html|website=Pro Football Archives|access-date=February 20, 2025|title=1928 Green Bay Packers (NFL)}} He did not return to the Packers in 1929, but continued to play as a member of the Oshkosh Badgers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/kenosha-news/166309358/|newspaper=Kenosha News|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 5, 1929|page=10|title=Elks' Gridders in Oshkosh for Tilt on Sunday}} {{Open access}}
Later life and death
After his brief professional career, Lollar remained in Wisconsin and worked as a salesman in Marinette.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-crescent-homecoming-1931/15864423/|newspaper=The Post-Crescent|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 22, 1931|page=14|title=Old Favorites Return To Green Bay Sunday For Homecoming Tilt}} {{Open access}} He died on May 7, 1945, in Jamestown, North Dakota, at the age of 39.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mountain-eagle-obituary-for-john-h/166309727/|newspaper=Daily Mountain Eagle|via=Newspapers.com|date=May 10, 1945|page=1|title=John H. Lollar To Be Buried Here Saturday}} {{Open access}} He was buried in his hometown of Jasper.