Part of the Chicago metropolitan area, Hammond passed Gary as the most populous city in Lake County in the 2010 census. The Hammond football and basketball teams are also beloved by local residents, but few people know that the first African-American NFL head coach — Hall of Famer Fritz Pollard — was coaching the Hammond Pros in the early 1920s. Other things Hammond boasts about include the second largest police memorial and being home to the George H. Hammond Company meat-packing plant, exemplifying its rich cultural and historical history. In 2013, Hammond became home to a bronze statue depicting a memorable moment of film. At the Indiana Welcome Center on I-94, a boy — named Flick in the movie — has his tongue stuck to a flagpole in honor of A Christmas Story author Jean Shepherd, who was raised in Hammond.