People, Locations, Episodes

Hilton Smith, Baseball Player born

*On this date in 1907, Hilton Smith was born. He was an African American baseball player with the Negro Leagues. A native of Giddings, Texas, Smith played baseball as a student at Prairie View A&M College and on his father’s local team.

LeRoy Matlock, Baseball Player born

*Leroy Matlock was born on this date in 1907. He was a Black baseball player in the Negro Leagues. Born in Moberly, MO., Matlock was among the best left-handed pitchers in the 1930’s.  He played with several teams from 1929 to 1938. He was selected for the 1935 and 1936 East-West All-Star Games. Matlock won […]

Janet Bragg, Nurse, Aviator, and Businesswoman born

*Janet Bragg was born on this date in 1907. She was an African American aviator, nurse, and nursing home proprietor.

Raymond Kemp, Football Player, and Coach born

*Ray Kemp was born on this date in 1907. He was an African American football player and coach.

Raymond Howard Kemp was from Cecil, Pa., a region of coal mines and farms where his parents had migrated from Virginia. He played fullback and the baritone saxophone at Cecil Township High School, and participated in the oratorical society. ”In that area at that time, it was assumed that blacks wouldn’t go to high school,” he recalled. ”I had brothers and sisters who were smarter than I was, but none of them went to school.”

The St. Paul Colored Gophers Baseball Team is Formed

The St. Paul Colored Gophers of 1907 are celebrated on this date. They were a small club of African American baseball players formed in St. Paul, MN, 40 years before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier.

Buck Leonard, Baseball Player born

This date in 1907 marks the birth of Buck Leonard. He was an African American baseball player, one of the best at his position in the Negro Baseball leagues.

Leonard began his baseball career as a semi-pro star in his hometown of Rocky Mount, NC, but in 1933, he was forced by the depression to leave home to pursue a professional career.

‘Jacko’ Maxwell, Negro League Broadcaster born

Sherman “Jocko” Maxwell was born on this date in 1907. He was an African American sports broadcaster, journalist, and postal worker.

A Newark, N.J. native Sherman Leander Maxwell was the son of William and Bessie E. (Harris) Maxwell. In 1928, Sherman graduated from Newark Central High School. He had hoped to attend Panzer College of Physical Education and Hygiene in East Orange, only to find it did not accept Black students.

Lew Hayman, Sports Businessman born

*Lew Hayman was born on this date in 1908. He was a Jewish-American sports executive. Lewis Edward Hayman was born in New York City and grew up in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended high school at the New York Military Academy. He played basketball at Syracuse University as a three-year starter and was named College Humor third-team […]

The World’s First Black Heavyweight Boxing Champion is Crowned

On this date in 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African American to win the world heavyweight boxing title.

Johnson knocked out Canadian Tommy Burns in the 14th round in a championship fight near Sydney, Australia. Whites hated Johnson, who held the heavyweight title until 1915, for his defiance of the “Jim Crow” racial segregation and oppression of early 20th-century America.

Eddie Tolan, Track and Field Athlete born

Eddie Tolan was born on this date in 1909. He was an African American sprinter.

Tolan was from Denver, Colo., and was that city and state champion in the 100- and 200-yard dashes. While attending high school in Detroit, he was often called The Midnight Express. At the University of Michigan, he attracted national attention in 1929 when he set a record in the 100-yard dash (9.5 seconds) and tied the record of 10.4 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

Jimmie Crutchfield, Baseball Player born

*On this date in 1910, Jimmie Crutchfield was born. He was a Black baseball player who was a household name in Pittsburgh’s Black baseball community.

The Chicago American Giants Baseball Team is Formed

*This date, in 1911, celebrates the founding of the Chicago American Giants baseball organization.   They were one of the many Negro League teams of America’s twentieth century.   This team was owned and managed from 1911-26 by Andrew “Rube” Foster, the inventor of “tricky” baseball. Along with the New York Lincoln Stars and the Indianapolis […]

The Lincoln Giants Baseball Team, a story

*The Lincoln Giants are celebrated on this date in 1911. They were a Negro Baseball League team based in New York City. The Lincoln Giants can trace their origins back to the Nebraska Indians of Lincoln, Nebraska, from the 1890s. According to Sol White’s History of Colored Base Ball, in 1890, the Lincoln Giants were founded as the first […]

Reginald Weir, Doctor, and Tennis Pioneer born

*Reginald Weir was born on this date in 1911. was a Black tennis player and physician. Reginald Storum Weir was born in Washington, D.C. Weir was a medical school graduate of New York University and practiced family medicine from 1935 to 1985. Weir was captain of the City College of New York, men’s tennis team. […]

Buck O’Neil, Baseball Player, and Manager born

Buck O’Neil was born on this date in 1911. He was an African American baseball player and manager.

John Jordan O’Neil was from Carrabelle, FL, and was initially denied, because of racial segregation, the opportunity to attend high school. At the time, Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans. However, after working a summer in a celery field with his father, O’Neil left home to live with relatives and attend a black high school elsewhere in the state.