Sports
Black Firsts in Sports
From Jackie Robinson's historic debut to Tiger Woods rewriting golf history, these athletes and coaches broke through barriers across every major sport.
8 firsts documented
sports 1947 Who Was the First Black Person to Play Major League Baseball? Jackie Robinson Debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, shattering the color line that had divided professional baseball for six decades. sports 1920 Who Was the First Black NFL Player? Fritz Pollard Played running back and became co-head coach of the Akron Pros before the NFL re-segregated in 1933. sports 1950 Who Was the First Black NBA Player? Earl Lloyd Beat Chuck Cooper and Nat Clifton to the court by one day, playing for the Washington Capitols. sports 1936 Who Was the First Black Olympic Gold Medalist? Jesse Owens Won four gold medals at the Berlin Games, directly challenging Nazi racial ideology in front of Adolf Hitler. sports 1997 Who Was the First Black Person to Win the Masters? Tiger Woods Won by 12 strokes at age 21, going on to win 15 major championships total. sports 1957 Who Was the First Black Wimbledon Champion? Althea Gibson Won the French Open in 1956 and Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, also the first Black player to compete at Wimbledon. sports 1958 Who Was the First Black NHL Player? Willie O'Ree Debuted with the Boston Bruins while legally blind in one eye, later named NHL Diversity Ambassador. sports 2007 Who Was the First Black Head Coach to Win the Super Bowl? Tony Dungy Led the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI, the first Super Bowl to feature two Black head coaches.