Trail Blazers: Groundbreaking Black Athletes

With the inauguration of President Barack Obama just a day away, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at other black American groundbreakers. Mr. Obama holds a certain fondness for sports, especially basketball, and even scrimmaged with Roy Williams and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill basketball team in April. In his honor, we focus on those black athletes that served as trailblazers into the world of athletics.

Jackie Robinson

One of the most famous black athletes of all time, Robinson is best known for breaking baseball’s “color barrier” by signing with Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Robinson faced countless adversity, suffering racial slurs from fans, fellow players, and tension in the clubhouse. Despite these negative forces, Robinson produced a Hall of Fame career with his signature style of profound energy, effort, and blazing speed. One of Robinson’s signature moments was stealing home on Yankees catcher Yogi Berra in the 1955 World Series.

Robinson’s career would earn him a place in baseball’s Hall of Fame, as well as a place in the hearts and minds of not only the African-American community, but also a great number of people, regardless of race. After winning the championship that year, Robinson’s playing career was in decline. Following the 1956, Robinson was traded to the rival Giants, but retired before ever playing a game with the team. Today, Robinson’s’ number 42 is retired across Major League Baseball, and April 15, the anniversary of Robinson’s debut in the Major Leagues, is celebrated as Jackie Robinson Day.

Kenny Washington and Woody Strode

These two UCLA teammates were two of the major figures in crossing professional football’s racial line, integrating what would become one of America’s most popular sports. A teammate of Jackie Robinson, Washington became UCLA’s fist All-American football player in 1939, as well as one of the greatest running backs in school history. Strode, one of Washington’s backfield mates, was another All-American.

Washington signed with the Los Angeles Rams in March of 1946, with Strode signing shortly after, just a year before Robinson would break baseball’s color barrier. Washington is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana.

Charles “Chuck” Cooper and Earl Lloyd

Cooper became the first black basketball player drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) when he was taken in the second round of the 1950 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. Cooper had just finished a highly successful career at Duquesne University, earning All-American honors in his senior season. After graduation, he spent some time with the Harlem Globetrotters, where his crafty play earned him the nickname “Tarzan.” Cooper would also play for the Milwaukee Hawks and Fort Wayne Pistons, as well as the Harlem Magicians before retiring from basketball.