People, Locations, Episodes

William J. Powell, Pioneer Aviator born

The birth of William J. Powell in 1897 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American aviator and businessman.

From Henderson, KY, he moved with his family to Chicago when he was eight. After graduating from Wendell Phillips High School at age 16, he applied to the University of Illinois School of engineering. He was a top student and musically talented to boot. He interrupted his studies at the University of Illinois to serve in World War I as an infantry lieutenant.

‘Biz’ Mackey, Baseball Player born

*”Biz” Mackey was born on this date in 1897. He was a Black baseball player and manager in Negro League baseball. James Raleigh “Biz” Mackey was born in Eagle Pass, Texas, to a sharecropping family with two brothers. He began playing baseball with his brothers on the Luling Oilers, a Prairie League team, 1916 in his hometown […]

Hubert Julian, Aviation Pioneer born

The birth of Hubert Julian in 1897 is marked on this date. He was an African American aviation pioneer, and businessperson.

Ora Washington, Athlete born

*On this date in 1898 we celebrate the birth of Ora Mae Washington. She was an African American tennis player.

Born in Philadelphia, she is best remembered for her twelve years of undefeated play (1924-36) in the all-Black American Tennis Association (ATA). Washington won eight ATA National Crowns in women’s singles between 1929 and 1937. With a number of different partners, she also won every woman’s doubles championship between 1925 and 1936, and mixed doubles championships in 1939, 1946, and 1947.

Duke Slater, Athlete, and Judge born

*”Duke” Slater was born on this date in 1898. He was a Black football player and judge.   Frederick Wayman “Duke” Slater was born in Normal, Illinois, the son of George Slater, a Methodist minister. As a boy, he picked up the name of the family dog, Duke, as a personal nickname and would carry it all his life. […]

Robert W. Johnson, Doctor, and Tennis Mentor born

*Robert W. Johnson was born on this date in 1899. He was a Black physician and community activist.   Robert Walter Johnson was born in Norfolk, VA. He graduated in 1924 from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania; he was a classmate of Melvin B. Tolson. Following a college career playing football at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University as a […]

Helen Webb Harris, Educator, and Administrator born

*Helen Webb Harris was born on this date in 1899.  She was a Black educator, sports enthusiast, playwright, and administrator.   Born in Washington, DC, she was one of five children of Mr. and Mrs. Elias Webb. She graduated from the old M Street High School and the old Miner Normal School. She earned a bachelor’s degree […]

William ‘Judy’ Johnson, Baseball Player born

William Julius (“Judy”) Johnson was born on this date in 1899. He was an African American Negro League baseball player.

Born in Snow Hill, MD. Judy Johnson was the son of William Henry and Annie Lee Johnson. His father was a sailor, a licensed boxing coach, and the athletic director of the Negro Settlement House in Wilmington. William Johnson wanted Judy to be a boxer, and Judy learned to box from his older sister, Emma, but Johnson, who was 5′ 11″ (1.80 m) and 150 lb (68 kg), was far better suited for a career in baseball.

James Banning, Aviator born

James Banning was born on this date in 1899. He was an African American aviator.

He was born in Oklahoma, the son of Riley and Cora Banning. The family moved to Ames, Iowa, in 1919, where he studied electrical engineering at Iowa State College for a little more than a year. Dreaming from boyhood of being a pilot, James Herman Banning was repeatedly turned away from flight schools because he was Black. He eventually learned to fly from an army aviator at Raymond Fisher’s Flying Field in Des Moines He became the first Black aviator to obtain a license from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

Effa Manley, Negro League Baseball Team Owner born

*Effa Manley was born on this date in 1900. An African American business entrepreneur, Manley was the only female owner in the history of Negro Leagues.

Manley was from Philadelphia, and rarely discussed her heritage, and most people assumed she was a light-skinned Black. Young Effa was raised in a household with a Black stepfather and Black half-siblings. After graduation from high school in Philadelphia, she moved to New York to work in the millinery business. She met Abe Manley, a man 24 years older than her, at the 1932 World Series at Yankee Stadium.

Maceo Breedlove, Baseball Player born

*Maceo “Breed” Breedlove was born on this date in 1900. He was an African American Negro League baseball player.

Breedlove grew up in Fayetteville, AL and played baseball with his four older brothers. His father was a coal-miner, and moved the gamily to Edgewater, AL for work. Breedlove started playing organized baseball on a local team made up of the children of miners. His early success came as a pitcher; he was blessed with a great arm. But because of his hitting he had to be in the lineup everyday so he became an outfielder.

An Integrated Baseball Team Wins a Minnesota Amateur Title

*On this date in 1900 the Waseca, Minnesota amateur baseball team won the Minnesota title with a 9-2 win over Saint Paul. Sponsored by Waseca’s EACO Mill, this was the first non-professional integrated baseball team in Minnesota and perhaps America.

Frank Duncan, Baseball Player born

*The birth of Frank Duncan in 1901 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues.

Duncan was born and raised in Kansas City. He played on semi-pro teams in St. Joseph, Missouri, and Chicago before he was traded to the Monarchs in 1921. One of the top catchers in the Negro Baseball Leagues, Frank Duncan spent most of his playing career with the Kansas City Monarchs. He was their first-string catcher during the Monarchs’ glory years of the 1920s, when the team won three consecutive league championships.

George Suttles, Baseball Player born

*George Suttles was born on this date in 1901. He was an African American baseball player in the Negro Leagues.

From Brockton, Louisiana, the Mule’s thirty-year career in Negro baseball began in 1918, two years before Rube Foster’s Negro National League’s inaugural season, and continued until after Jackie Robinson had his rookie season with the Dodgers under his belt. He grew up in the Birmingham, Alabama area and first attracted the attention of the hometown Black Barons. He signed his first professional contract with that club in 1923.

‘Turkey’ Stearnes, Baseball Player born

Norman (“Turkey”) Stearnes was born on this date in Nashville, TN, in 1901. He was an African American baseball player in the Negro Leagues.

A fleet-footed power hitter with an unusual batting style, Stearnes demonstrated his hitting prowess early