<
-
On this, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, we take a look back at some African-American pioneers in sports who were proof of King's enduring message: That all men were created equal, and these men helped prove that African-Americans should not be judged solely by the color of the skin, but by the content of their character.
Photo: AP in English
-
Jack Johnson (Boxing): At the height of segregation, Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion of the world from 1908-1915, and is still widely considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. He was one of the earliest sports celebrities, and was known for flouting the conventions of blacks and whites in that era. It would not be until Joe Louis in 1937 that another African-American would hold the heavweight title belt.
Photo: AP in English
-
Fritz Pollard (NFL): Nearly 30 years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, Pollard was one of the first black NFL players, and he became the first black NFL head coach in 1921. He helped lead the Akron Zips to the NFL title in 1920, but was removed along with the eight other black players from the league in 1926. Pollard was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Photo: AP in English
-
Jesse Owens (Track and field): One of the most famous African-American pioneers, Owens not only struck a blow for African-Americans in the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, but he also struck one against Adolf Hitler's notion of Aryian supremacy. Owens won four gold medals and was the most decorated athlete at the Games.
Photo: AP in English
-
Jackie Robinson (Baseball): The most famous sports pioneer, Robinson was asked to integrate America's most popular sport in a time of segregation in this country. In 1947, he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and over 10 seasons led them to six World Series and one title in 1955. Robinson also became the first African-American to win the MVP award in 1949. He paved the way for future African-American stars, integrated baseball, and served as a leading light of the civil rights movement that started in the 1950s and lasted into the '60s. His number 42 is retired by every team in baseball, never to be worn again.
Photo: AP in English
-
Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton (Basketball): It's hard to believe nowadays that the NBA ever needed integration, but that was the case back in 1950, when Clifton became the first African-American to sign an NBA contract with the New York Knicks. Clifton helped lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals that season, and he was an All-Star once in an 11-year career.
Photo: AP in English
-
Althea Gibson (Tennis): Gibson became the first African-American to compete in the U.S. Nationals, as well as Wimbledon. In 1956, she became the first African-American to win the French Open, and she followed that by being the first to win the U.S. Nationals and Wimbledon, achieving both victories in 1957 and 1958. In 1963, she became the first African-American to compete on the LPGA Tour.
Photo: AP in English
-
Wendell Scott (NASCAR): The NASCAR of today looks like a pre-segregation sport, which makes it all the more surprising that Wendell Scott broke the sport's color barrier back in 1952. He reamins one of six African-Americans to ever run a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. His best finish was sixth in 1966.
Photo: AP in English
-
Charlie Sifford (Golf): Sifford was the first African-American to play in the PGA and the first to win an event, capturing the 1967 Greater Hartford Open and the 1969 Los Angeles Open. He also achieved another first when he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. He preceded Lee Elder, the first African-American to compete in the Masters, an of course, Tiger Woods, the first to win it.
Photo: AP in English
-
Ernie Davis (College football): Davis became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy in 1961, after stars like Jim Brown and Woody Strode had continuously been overlooked by the media. Sadly, Davis died of leukemia before he could play a down in the NFL.
Photo: AP in English
-
Bill Russell (Basketball): Russell became the first African-American coach in NBA history when he succeeded the legendary Red Auerbach in 1966. With Russell, the Celtics won back-to-back championships to close out the 1960s, giving the organization 11 in Russell's 13 seasons with the team.
Photo: AP in English
-
Frank Robinson (Baseball): Robinson, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, also broke a barrier when he became the first African-American manager of an MLB team, as player-manager for the Cleveland Indians for two seasons in 1974-75. Robinson managed four other teams through his last season in 2006.
Photo: AP in English
-
Arthur Ashe (Tennis): Ashe was the first African-American man to win the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon (photo). He was also a humanitarian, someone who fought for equal rights, and later he was a Davis Cup-winning captain. In his final days, he also helped lead the fight against AIDS, which he had contracted through a blood transfusion several years earlier. Ashe died of the disease in 1993.
Photo: AP in English
-
Doug Williams (NFL): They said African-Americans could not play quarterback in the NFL, and they said none would be good enough to lead their team to a Super Bowl victory. But Williams proved the naysayers wrong on both counts, leading Tampa Bay to within a game of a Super Bowl appearance in 1979 before taking over as the starter and leading the Washington Redskins to Super Bowl XXII. There, Williams had a performance for the ages, passing for 340 yards and four TDs to earn MVP honors in a 42-10 blowout that erased any doubts about the African-American quarterback in the NFL.
Photo: AP in English
1
14
On this, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, we take a look back at some African-American pioneers in sports who were proof of King's enduring message: That all men were created equal, and these men helped prove that African-Americans should not be judged solely by the color of the skin, but by the content of their character.
Photo: AP in English
