African Americans in Sports
African American History
African Americans in Sports
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1875 |
Oliver Lewis, the first major African American jockey, wins the first-ever running of the Kentucky Derby |
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1878 |
Bud Fowler becomes the first African American to play professional baseball, for an all-white team in New Castle, Pennsylvania |
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1890 |
First African American world champion boxer, George Dixon, wins the title by defeating Nunc Wallace |
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1892 |
First African American college football game is played, between Biddle University (now Johnson C. Smith University) and Livingstone College | |
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1908 |
Jack Johnson becomes the first African American heavyweight-boxing champion, defeating Tommy Burns |
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1909 |
Lincoln University, Virginia Union University, Hampton Institute, and Wilberforce University field the first African American college basketball teams | |
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1917 |
First African Americans to win the American Tennis Association championship are Tally Holmes (men’s title) and Lucy Stone (women’s title) | |
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1919 |
Fritz Pollard begins playing for the Akron Indians of the American Professional Football League, becoming the first black professional football player |
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1924 |
DeHart Hubbard becomes the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal, in the long jump at the Paris games |
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1936 |
Jesse Owens wins four track-and-field gold medals at the Olympic Games |
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1937 |
“Brown bomber” Joe Louis wins the world heavyweight boxing title, which he holds until his retirement in 1949 |
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1942 |
Pitcher Satchel Paige leads the Kansas City Monarchs to their fourth consecutive Negro American League baseball championship |
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1947 |
Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American major league baseball player; goes on to become the first black man enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame (1962) |
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| Don Barksdale of UCLA becomes the first African American to be selected for All-American college basketball honors | ||
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1950 |
Chuck Cooper becomes the first black man drafted by an NBA basketball team (Boston Celtics); later that year, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton becomes the first black man to sign an NBA contract (New York Knicks), and Earl Lloyd becomes the first black man to play in an NBA game (Washington Capitols) | |
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1956 |
Althea Gibson is the first African American to win a major tennis title, the French Open; the next year, she becomes the first African American to win the Wimbledon championship |
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1957 |
Charles Sifford becomes the first African American to win a major professional golf tournament, the Long Beach Open | |
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1961 |
Ernest Davis wins the Heisman Trophy for college football player of the year, the first black man to do so | |
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1962 |
John “Buck” O’Neil becomes the first black coach of a major league baseball team, the Chicago Cubs | |
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1964 |
Cassius Clay upsets Sonny Liston to win the world heavyweight boxing championship; later that year, Clay becomes a member of the Nation of Islam and changes his name to Muhammad Ali |
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1966 |
Bill Russell becomes the first African American to coach an NBA basketball team, the Boston Celtics |
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1967 |
Defensive back Emlen Tunnell of the New York Giants is the first African American to be inducted to the Football Hall of Fame |
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1968 |
Arthur Ashe is the first black man to win the U.S. Open tennis championship |
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1972 |
Baseball great Roberto Clemente is killed in a plane crash |
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1974 |
Atlanta Braves outfielder Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time record, which had stood for four decades |
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1975 |
Lee Elder becomes the first African American to be invited to play in the Masters tournament in golf |
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After a career as a player for the Baltimore Orioles and other teams, Frank Robinson becomes the first black manager of a major league team, the Cleveland Indians |
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1984 |
Sprinter Carl Lewis wins four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles; he goes on to win five more, in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 games |
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1998 |
NBA basketball star Michael Jordan wins his sixth NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls |
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2000 |
Sisters Venus Williams and Serena Williams emerge as major figures in women’s tennis |
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2001 |
Tiger Woods becomes the first professional golfer of any race to hold all four major golf championships (Masters, PGA, U.S. Open, and British Open) at the same time |
