This document provides a timeline of 50 notable firsts for African Americans in sports from 1875 to 2008. Some of the early firsts include Oliver Lewis being the first black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby in 1875 and Bud Fowler being the first black professional baseball player in 1878. Later firsts include Tiger Woods being the first black golfer to win the Masters in 1997 and Shani Davis winning an individual Winter Olympics gold medal in speed skating in 2006.

1. 10D Saturday, February 28, 2009 www.star-telegram.com
M
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
The first 50 of America
By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@star-telegram.com
During Black History Month, we look at some of
sports’ individual trail blazers with a timeline of
50 notable sports firsts for African-Americans:
1875 Oliver Lewis: jockey to 1975 Lee Elder: to play in The
1948 Alice Coachman:
win the Kentucky Derby Masters
woman to win Olympic
gold medal (high jump)
1878 Bud Fowler: professional 1975 Frank Robinson: MLB
baseball player (New Castle, manager (Cleveland Indians)
Pa.)
1981 Val James: to play in the
1884 Moses Fleetwood NHL (Buffalo Sabres)
“Fleet” Walker: to play
major-league baseball
1988 Doug Williams: start-
(Toledo Blue Stockings)
ing quarterback in a Super
1899 Marshall W. “Major” Bowl (Washington Redskins)
Taylor: world cycling champion
1988 Debi Thomas: to medal
1901 Harry “Bucky” Lew:
at the Winter Olympics
professional basketball player
(bronze, figure skating)
(New England Professional
Basketball League) 1988 Johnny Grier: NFL referee
1904 George Poage: Olympic 1989 Art Shell: NFL head
medalist (two bronzes, 200 coach in league’s modern era
hurdles and 400 hurdles) (Los Angeles Raiders)
1948 Don Barksdale: on an
2002 Vonetta Flowers: Win-
Olympic basketball team and
1904 Charles Follis: profes- 1991 Willy T. Ribbs: to qualify ter Olympic gold medal win-
basketball gold medal winner
ner (two woman-bobsleigh)
sional football player (Shelby for the Indianapolis 500
1950 Chuck Cooper: to be
Blues)
1992 Cito Gaston: to manage
drafted by an NBA team (Bos- 2006 Shani Davis: individual
1908 John Taylor: Olympic ton Celtics); Nat “Sweetwater” a World Series team (Toronto Winter Olympic gold medal
gold-medal winner (track and Clifton: to sign an NBA contract Blue Jays) winner (1,000-meter speed-
field, medley relay) (New York Knicks); Earl Lloyd: skating)
1997 Tiger Woods: golfer to
to play in an NBA game (Wash-
1908 Jack Johnson: heavy- 2007 Tony Dungy and Lovie
ington Capitols). win a Grand Slam event (The
1961 John McLendon: 1963 Wendell Scott: to win a
weight boxing champion Masters) Smith: NFL head coaches to
professional basketball coach race in what now is known as
1950 Arthur Dorrington: reach the Super Bowl (India-
(Cleveland Pipers) NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series
1917 Lucy Diggs Slowe: 2002 Ozzie Newsome: NFL
professional hockey player napolis Colts, Chicago Bears)
(Speedway Park)
1961 Ernie Davis: Heisman
woman to win a major nation- (Atlantic City Sea Gulls) general manager (Baltimore
1966 Emmett Ashford: MLB
al sports title (American Trophy winner (Syracuse) Ravens) DAVID THOMAS, 817-390-7760
1951 Duke Slater: College
Tennis Association) umpire
1962 Buck O’Neil: coach in
Football Hall of Fame inductee
1920 Fritz Pollard and 1966 Bill Russell: head coach
(Iowa) MLB (Chicago Cubs)
Bobby Marshall: NFL players of a major professional sports
(Akron Pros, Rock Island team (Boston Celtics)
1953 Willie Thrower: NFL
Independents) quarterback (Chicago Bears)
1967 Charlie Sifford: to win
1921 Fritz Pollard: NFL a PGA Tour event (Greater
1955 Sam “Toothpick” Jones:
coach (player-coach, Hartford Open)
first MLB no-hitter (Chicago
Akron Pros) Cubs)
1967 Emlen Tunnell: Pro Foot-
1924 William DeHart Hub- 1955 Elias Bowie: to drive in ball Hall of Fame inductee (New
bard: to win individual Olym- a NASCAR Grand National York Giants, Green Bay Packers)
pic gold medal (long jump) race (Bay Meadows
1968 Jackie White: NBA referee
Speedway)
1947 Jackie Robinson: MLB 1968 Arthur Ashe: man
1956 Althea Gibson: Tennis
player of the modern era to win a Grand Slam event
(Brooklyn Dodgers) Grand Slam event winner (U.S. Open)
(French Open)
1968 Marlin Briscoe: modern-
1947 Larry Doby: American
1960 Fuller Gordy: profession- era NFL starting quarterback
League player (Cleveland
(Denver Broncos)
Indians) al bowler PHOTOS: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, GETTY IMAGES