People, Locations, Episodes

Earl Francis, Baseball Pitcher born

Earl Francis was born on this date in 1935. He was an African American baseball player and businessman.

Earl Coleman Francis was from Slab Fork, West Virginia. He was the Pittsburgh Pirates’ opening day starter in 1963 and a rookie pitcher on their 1960 World Series championship team. Francis was 16-23 with a 3.77 ERA in 52 games and six major league seasons, all but one with the Pirates. He pitched two games for St. Louis in 1965. The right-hander was 1-0 in seven games in 1960, but did not pitch in the World Series. His best season was 1962, when he was 9-8 with a 3.07 ERA.

Jim ‘Mudcat’ Grant, Baseball Pitcher born

*”Mudcat” Grant was born on this date in 1935.  He was a Black baseball pitcher.  James Timothy “Mudcat” Grant was born in Lacoochee, Florida, then a lumber town about 40 miles north of Tampa. He was one of seven children born to James and Viola Grant. Like many of the residents of Lacoochee, James Grant, […]

Frank Robinson, Baseball Player, and Manager born

*Frank Robinson was born on this date in 1935.  He was a Black professional baseball player and manager.  Frank Robinson was born in Beaumont, Texas, the youngest of ten children to Frank Robinson and Ruth Shaw. His parents divorced when he was an infant, and his mother moved with her children first to Alameda, California, and then to West Oakland, California. He attended Oakland’s McClymonds High […]

Mamie ‘Peanut’ Johnson, Baseball Player born

Mamie Johnson was born on this date in 1935. She was an African American baseball player. “Peanut” Johnson was one of three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro Leagues.

She was born in Ridgeway, S.C., he daughter of Gentry Harrison and Della Belton Havelow. When she was only seven years old, she would play baseball every day. When she left South Carolina to pursue her college education in 1943, she refused to let anyone or anything interfere with her love of playing baseball. She practiced while pursuing her studies at New York University.

Robert Lawrence, Chemist, and Astronaut born

Robert H. Lawrence, an African American astronaut, was born on this date in 1935.

He was born in Chicago, and graduated from Englewood High Schoo. He earned a B. S. in chemistry from Bradley University in 1956, and completed a doctorate in physical chemistry at Ohio State University.

Willie O’Ree, Hockey Player born

*Willie O’Ree was born on this date in 1935.  He is a Black Canadian professional ice hockey player (retired).. William Eldon O’Ree was raised in a large family in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He was the youngest of 13 children of parents Rosebud and Harry. O’Ree’s grandparents came to Canada from the United States through the Underground Railroad to escape slavery. While O’Ree was […]

Herman Boone, Football Coach born.

*Herman Boone was born on this date in 1935. He was a Black high school teacher and football coach. Herman Ike Boone was from Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He attended Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, then the now-closed Booker T. Washington High School. While attending North Carolina Central University, Boone joined the Tau Psi chapter of the Omega […]

Bob Gibson, Baseball Player born

*Bob Gibson was born on this date in 1935. He was an African American baseball player.

From Omaha, Nebraska he was named Pack Robert Gibson, after his father who died 3 months before his birth and changed his name to Robert when he turned 18. Despite a childhood filled with health problems, including rickets, asthma, pneumonia, and a heart murmur, he was active in sports particularly baseball and basketball. After a standout career at Tech High in Omaha, Gibson won a basketball scholarship to Creighton University.

Jim Brown, Football Player, Actor, Activist

*Jim Brown was born on this date in 1936. He was an African American football player, actor and civil rights advocate. From Saint Simons, Ga. He was the son of Swinton and Theresa Brown.

Gordon Brown Sr., Golfer born

*Gordon Brown Sr. was born on this date in 1936. He is an African American Golfer and activist.

A Stunning Victory at the Olympic Games

*On this date in 1936, “the most daring move seen in track” happened at the Olympic games. It was here that African American John Woodruff won the 800-meters Gold Medal in Berlin.

The Wake Robin Golf Club is Founded

*On this date in 1936, the Wake Robin Golf Club of Washington, D. C., was formed. This was one of the first all-Black Women Golf Clubs in America.

Thirteen women held their first meeting at the home of Helen Webb Harris at 79 R Street NW that evening. She was an educator and the wife of a prominent Washington physician. Each founding member was married to an associate of Washington’s all-Black, all-male Royal Golf Club, and they were tired of staying home on weekends while their husbands played.

Wilt Chamberlain, Basketball Player born

This date marks the birth of Wilt Chamberlain in 1936. He was an African American basketball player who won seven consecutive NBA scoring titles and is the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer.

Al Attles, Basketball Player and Coach born

*Al Attles was born on this date in 1936.  He was a Black professional basketball player, coach, and executive.   Alvin Austin Attles Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from Weequahic High School and North Carolina A&T State University. Attles earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and history along with a […]

John Wooten, Football Player, and Historian born

*John Wooten was born on this date in 1936. He is a Black retired American football player and current administrator.  John B. Wooten was born in Riverview, Texas. His family then moved to Carlsbad, New Mexico, and he attended segregated schools through the 9th grade before attending the newly integrated Carlsbad High School.   Wooten […]