*On this date in 1972, Art Williams became the first African American umpire in the National League.
He called the game from third base as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 in 10 innings. William was a minor league pitcher in the mid 1950’s.
He died in 1979 at the age of 44 in his home in Bakersfield, California.
learn more*This date in 1973 marks the founding of World Environment Day. We choose this date to write briefly about the African American Environmentalist Association (AAEA). Founded in 1985, AAEA’s Vision, Mission & Strategy is to address the continuing crisis of pollution that disproportionately affects the poor and communities of color. They conduct cutting-edge research on […]
learn moreDerek Jeter was born on this date in 1974. He was an African American professional baseball player.
learn more*Mike Grier was born on this date in 1975. He is a former Black professional ice hockey winger and current National Hockey League general manager. Michael James Grier was born in Detroit, MI, but raised in Holliston, Massachusetts, where he attended and played hockey at St. Sebastian’s School. At age 9, he appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces […]
learn moreOn this date in 1974, Frank Robinson becomes manager of the Cleveland Indians baseball club. Robinson was former Most Valuable Player (MVP) in both leagues, Cincinnati and Baltimore. He was the first African American manager in major league baseball.
learn moreOn this date in 1975, Al Attles became one of the first African American coach to win a professional championship in any team sport.
On that Sunday afternoon, his Golden State Warriors swept the Washington Bullets 4 games to 0 with a 96 to 95 victory in the NBA finals. The Bullets were coached by K.C. Jones, another African American. Attles coached the Warriors until 1983, compiling a 557-518 record overall.
learn more*Torii Hunter was born on this date in 1975. He is a retired African American professional baseball player and activist for youth baseball in the black community.
learn more*Stephanie Ready was born on this date in 1975. She is a Black TV broadcaster and semi-professional basketball coach. Born in Takoma Park, Maryland, Ready attended National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., followed by Coppin State University in Baltimore, where she played basketball and volleyball for the Coppin State Eagles. She ranked in the top 10 on […]
learn moreOn this date in 1975, “Tiger” Woods was born. He is an African and Asian American professional golfer, the first representative of the two races and the youngest golfer, to win a major golf tournament.
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods, born in Cypress, CA, is a golf prodigy. His father Earl Woods taught his son to play golf before the boy could even read. His mother, Kutilda Punsawad Woods, comes from Thailand.
learn moreKevin Maurice Garnett was born on this date in 1976. He was an African American professional basketball player.
He was born in Mauldin S.C., just outside of Greenville, to O’Lewis McCullough and Shirley Irby Garnett. He has two sisters, Sonya and Ashley. In his hometown, he is remembered as the tall kid with the ball, who pushed the curfew at Springfield Park, shooting baskets until midnight or alone in the dark. His friends say that he had to play, and basketball was in his blood.
learn more*Jarome Iginla was born on this date in 1977. He is a Black Canadian (retired) professional hockey forward. He played over 1500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and Los Angeles Kings. Jarome Arthur Iginla was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in the adjoining city of St. Albert. His father was originally from Nigeria, but his […]
learn more*Keeth Smart was born on this date in 1978. He is an African American Fencer and Olympic athlete.
From Brooklyn at the age of 14 his parents made him choose between the more traditional sports he was involved with and fencing. He is the son of Thomas R. Smart Jr.a production manager and economist and Liz Smart a teacher. Smart graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1996. At the urging of his parents, he and his younger sister Erinn began to learn fencing at the Peter Westbrook Foundation.
learn more*Kobe Bryant was born on this date in 1978. He was an African American professional basketball player and has become an investor.
Kobe Bean Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest of three children and the only son of former NBA player and former WNBA head coach Joe “Jellybean” Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He is also the maternal nephew of John “Chubby” Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan. He started playing basketball when he was 3 years old, and his grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games, which Bryant would study.
learn moreJames Blake was born on this date in 1979. He is a former African American professional tennis player.
James Riley Blake is from Yonkers, New York, His African American father was Thomas Blake, Sr., and his mother Betty is British. His brother, Thomas Jr., is also a professional tennis player, and he has two older half-brothers, Christopher and Howard.
Blake graduated from Fairfield High School, in Fairfield, CT, in 1997. He attended Harvard University and left after his sophomore year to pursue a career in tennis.
learn more*Ronaldo was born on this date in 1980. He is an Afro Brazilian soccer player (footballer). From Porto Alegre, Brazil, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira is more commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho because he is from the Rio Grande do the Sul state of Brazil. His nickname Ronaldinho is Portuguese for “little Ronaldo” and was initially […]
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