People, Locations, Episodes

Richard Lapchick, Educator, and Activist born

*Richard Lapchick was born on this date in 1945. He is a white-American educator, human rights activist, sportswriter, and author.   Richard E. Lapchick is from Yonkers, New York, and he is the son of Joe Lapchick, a college and professional basketball coach who helped integrate the NBA when he signed Nat Clifton in 1950. […]

Gene Upshaw, Football Player, and Union Leader born

Gene Upshaw was born on this date in 1945. He was a Black football player and union administrator.

Rod Carew, Baseball Player born

*Rod Carew was born on this date in 1945. He is a former Afro Panamanian baseball player and coach. Rodney Cline Carew is the son of Olga Teoma and Eric Carew Sr., a painter. Carew is a Zonian and was born to an Afro Panamanian mother on a train in the town of Gatún, which, […]

Black History and the Canadian Football League, a story

*We celebrate Black history and the Canadian Football League (CFL) on this date in 1946. In many cases, Blacks in America pursued professional football opportunities in the CFL, which were unavailable in the United States. Especially in the mid-20th century, many Black players came to Canada to avoid the racially charged atmosphere of Jim Crow America. For […]

The Indianapolis Clowns Baseball Team is Formed

*This date in 1946 celebrates the start of the Indianapolis Clowns baseball organization. They were one of the many teams that played in the Negro leagues of America.

Bobby Bonds, Baseball Player born

*Bobby Bonds was born on this date in 1946. He was a Black baseball player.

From Riverside, California, Bobby Lee Bonds was the Southern California High School Athlete of the Year in 1964. He was then signed by the San Francisco Giants to play professional baseball. That same year his sister, Rosie, was a track star on the American 1964 Olympic team. By the middle of the 1968 season, Bobby was with the big league club, blasting a Grand Slam in his first major league game. In 1969, he was the starting right fielder, playing to the left of Willie Mays.

Renee Powell, Golfer, Businesswoman born

*Renee Powell was born on born on this date in 1946. She is a Black professional golfer and Businesswoman. Renee Powell was born in East Canton, Ohio. She began playing golf at the age of three. Her father, Bill Powell, was the first Black person to create and build his golf course in America. He […]

Reggie Jackson, Baseball Player born

Reggie Jackson was born on this date in 1946. He was an African American baseball player, and current minority baseball activist.

Jim Hines, Track Athlete born.

*Jim Hines was born on this date in 1946. He was a Black track and field athlete and professional football player.  James Ray Hines was born in Dumas, Arkansas; Hines was raised in Oakland, California, and graduated from McClymonds High School in 1964. He was a baseball player in his younger years until track coach […]

Jo Jo White, Basketball Player born

*Jo Jo White was born on this date in 1946. He was a Black collegiate and professional athlete. Joseph Henry White was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of a Baptist minister, George L. White Sr., and his wife, Elizabeth Rebecca Guynn.  As the youngest of seven children, he had three sisters, Shirley, Aldean, […]

America’s Major League Baseball Breaks Its Color Barrier

On this date in 1947, the first Black man played in a major league baseball game.

Jackie Robinson’s first major-league game (with the Brooklyn Dodgers) was the event: “It was the most eagerly anticipated debut in the annals of the national pastime,” wrote one sports writer. “It represented both the dream and the fear of equal opportunity, and it would change forever the complexion of the game and the attitudes of Americans.”

Robinson started at first base went hitless, but did score the winning run. He also won “Rookie of the Year” honors in his first major league season.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Basketball Player, and Author born

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born on this date in 1947. He was an African American Basketball player.

Baseball’s American League Integrates

This date in 1947 marks the integration of baseball’s American League.

The Cleveland Indians were the first baseball team to integrate its team the summer if 1947, just a few months after Jackie Robinson first debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The first black man to play in the Junior Circuit was the somewhat overlooked Larry Doby.

O.J. Simpson, Athlete and Felon born

O. J. Simpson was born on this date in 1947. He is a (retired) African American football player, actor, and broadcaster.

Orenthal James Simpson was born in San Francisco to Eunice Durden and James Lee Simpson. His aunt gave him the name Orenthal, which supposedly was the name of a French actor she liked. His parents separated in 1952. Simpson has one brother: Melvin Leon “Truman” Simpson, and two sisters: Shirley Simpson-Baker and Carmelita Simpson-Durio.

The First Black Plays in an American Indoor Tennis Tournament

*On this date in 1948 the first African American played in a United States Indoor Lawn Tennis Association tournament.

Reginald Weir, a Black physician from New York City played in what was then known then as the USLTA (U.S. Lawn Tennis Association national championship tournament).