Rommie Lee Loudd was a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player, coach, and executive. He was the first black assistant coach in the American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 and the first black majority owner of a major league sports team.

Playing career

Loudd played tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

 for coach Red Sanders

Henry Russell Sanders

Henry Russell "Red" Sanders was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Vanderbilt University and the University of California at Los Angeles , compiling a career college football record of 102–41–3...

 at UCLA

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

 from 1953 to 1955. He was a member of the Bruins team that won the 1954 Rose Bowl

1954 Rose Bowl

The 1954 Rose Bowl game, played on January 1, 1954 was the 40th Rose Bowl game. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the UCLA Bruins, 28–20. Michigan State halfback Billy Wells was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. This was the first year that Michigan State University was counted in...

 and was named that year's FWAA & UPI National Champions

NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship

A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...

.

He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 in the 26th round (304th overall) of the 1956 NFL Draft

1956 NFL Draft

The 1956 National Football League Draft was held on November 29, 1955.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...

, but instead signed with the BC Lions

BC Lions

The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...

 of the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

. After being cut by the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in 1959, Loudd joined the newly formed American Football League as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He was released by the Chargers after one season and signed with the Boston Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

.

Coaching

In 1964, Loudd moved to coaching. He was the defensive coach of the Boston Sweepers

Boston Sweepers

The Boston Sweepers was a team in the Atlantic Coast Football League. They played their home games at the Everett Memorial Stadium in Everett, Massachusetts...

 of the Atlantic Coast Football League

Atlantic Coast Football League

The Atlantic Coast Football League was a minor football league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league paid a base salary of $100 per game and had 36 players on each active roster.For the...

 for two seasons before becoming the linebackers coach for the Boston Patriots and the first African-American coach in the history of the AFL. After two seasons as coach, Loudd moved to the front office, where he was the Patriots Director of Player Personnel from 1968 to 1971 and Director of Pro Scouting from 1971 to 1973.

In 1973, Loudd led a bid to get a National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 franchise in Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

. The expansion franchise would instead go to Philadelphia construction magnate Thomas McCloskey

Thomas McCloskey

Thomas D. McCloskey was a Philadelphia construction magnate. He became the president of McCloskey & Co. Builders when his father, former Democratic National Treasurer Matthew H. McCloskey, was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Ireland....

 who founded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

. In 1974, Loudd became the owner of the Florida Blazers of the World Football League

World Football League

The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...

. He was the first black top executive in major league sports.

Legal troubles

On April 3, 1957, Loudd and two companions were charged with varied "morals offenses". He would later be convicted of sexual misconduct. On December 23, 1974, he was arrested on charges of embezzling state sales tax money. Three months later he was charged with conspiracy and delivery of cocaine. He was sentenced to two concurrent fourteen year sentences for conviction on two counts of delivering cocaine. He was also sentenced to two years in prison for possession and distribution of cocaine. The sales tax embezzlement and conspiracy to deliver cocaine charges were dropped following his convictions on drug charges. After three years in prison, Loudd was released on parole and became an associate minister at Mount Tabor Baptist Church.