Trail Blazers: Groundbreaking Black Athletes

Though he was the first player drafted to an NBA team, Cooper was not the first black to play a game in the NBA. That honor belongs to Earl Lloyd, who played at West Virginia State College before being drafted by the Washington Capitals. Lloyd would go on to win a title with the Syracuse Nationals in 1955.

Cooper and Lloyd are both members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe

Before the 1950’s, tennis was—as much of it still is today—dominated by white athletes. The post-war years were witness to the desegregation of tennis. In 1950, Althea Gibson, raised in Harlem, was granted a place in the U.S. Nationals, the first black woman to play in the tournament. An outstanding player, she went on to dominate the tennis world in the late 50’s, winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Nationals over a three-year span. Gibson is enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Arthur Ashe was the first black male tennis player to capture the championship at the U.S. Open in 1968, one of three Grand Slam titles that Ashe would win. Despite a slew of tennis honors, Ashe’s contributions were felt outside of the court as well.

Much of his life was spent devoted to activism against South African Apartheid, writing, commentating and teaching. His alma mater, UCLA, honored him by naming the student health center after him. Ashe suffered from AIDS, but used his illness to gain awareness of the disease. Ashe died in 1993.

Willie O’Ree

A star hockey player from New Brunswick, O’Ree joined the NHL’s Boston Bruins in 1957, becoming the first African-American in the American professional league. After a brief departure, O’Ree rejoined the Bruins in 1960, playing in 43 games.

The remainder of his hockey career was spent mostly in Southern California, playing in the Western Hockey league with Los Angeles and San Diego. Though O’Ree’s NHL career was brief, his role in breaking the color barrier of the sport is still widely felt.

Tiger Woods

Few athletes, of any race, have done as much for their sport as the great golfer Tiger Woods. The numbers are staggering: 14 major championships, 65 PGA Tour wins, and a 9-time PGA Player of the Year recipient. One of Woods’ greatest triumphs came at the 2008 U.S. Open, where he outlasted journeyman Rocco Mediate on a severely injured knee.

Woods is considered one of the greatest golfers in history. His 1997 domination of the field at Augusta National earned him a magical win at the Masters, perhaps the most prestigious tournament in professional golf.

Jack Johnson

One of the greatest American boxers of all time, Johnson’s domination of the sport in the early 1900’s paved the way for a bevy of future black superstars like Muhammad Ali. His skill and power led to a search for the “Great White Hope” that could defeat Johnson.

The boxer made much of the American public uncomfortable with his behavior, which often broke racial taboos and restrictions. Johnson opened a club in Harlem that would later become the famous Cotton Club of Harlem Renaissance fame. The former heavyweight champion was killed in a 1946 car crash at the age of 68.