African American Athletes

Collection of articles highlighting exceptional achievement by African American athletes and the barriers they faced.

ESPN.com: Black History Month 2010

Baseball - including Negro League, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays

Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson - Library of Congress

Traces the history of baseball, and African-American players, from 1860 through 1972.

Negro League Baseball - From 1920 to 1960, the Negro Baseball Leagues were in operation. It did not die out until every Major League team had drafted African-American players.

Integration of Major League Baseball - It took 12 years, from 1947 to 1959, for all major league teams to integrate.

Jackie Robinson - The first African-American to play for the major leagues, he went to the Booklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Willie Mays - Not the first African-American baseball player, but as Salon.com points out, "In the mid-'60s, whites weren't ready for the best baseball player to be black, and blacks weren't ready for him to be black like Mays."

    • Willie Mays - Academy of Achievement
    • When Willie Mays joined the NY Giants in 1951, black players were still a rarity in the major leagues. Before Willie Mays, the typical scout's report on a black player would mention the player's color first, his ability second. When scouts described young Willie Mays, they mentioned his remarkable skills first.
    • Willie Mays - Salon.com
    • In the mid-'60s, whites weren't ready for the best baseball player to be black, and blacks weren't ready for him to be black like Mays.
    • Mays Brought Joy to Baseball - ESPN

Mamie "Peanut" Johnson - one of three women to play in the Negro Leagues.

Track - including Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph

Jesse Owens - In 1936 Owens won four track and field gold medals the summer Olympics. They were ironically held in Berlin, Germany, where Owens achievements flew in the face of Adolf Hitler's determination to display the superiority of the German "Aryan" race.

Wilma Rudolph - Earned three gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, becoming the first woman from the United States to win three golds in one Olympics.

Black Power Salute at 1968 Olympics - Tommie Smith and John Carlos, U.S. track stars, made an unforgettable gesture during their medal ceremony. It remains one of the most famous and controversial moments in Olympic history.

Boxing

Joe Louis - World heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949; widely regarded as the first African American to achieve the status of a nationwide hero within the United States.

Muhammad Ali - One of the world's most respected and adored athletes, he was willing to go out on a limb for his personal beliefs by joining the Nation of Islam and speaking out against the Vietnam War.

Basketball

Integration of the NBA

Charles Cooper - The first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team

Harlem Globetrotters - African American professional basketball team, organized in 1927. Has long incorporated comic routines into their games, with a greater emphasis beginning in the 1950s when the NBA integrated.

Other people:

  • Althea Gibson (Tennis) - integrated Grand Slam tennis
  • Marlin Briscoe (Football) - first black quarterback in the NFL
  • Willie O'Ree (Hockey) - first black hockey player in NHL