People, Locations, Episodes

Josh Gibson, Baseball Player born

On this date in 1911, Josh Gibson was born. He was a Black professional baseball player who was one of the leading hitters in the Negro Leagues.

The Homestead Grays Baseball Team, a story

*This date in 1912 celebrates the founding of the Homestead Grays Baseball organization. They were one of many Negro League teams in the early twentieth century.

The ‘All Nations’ Baseball Team Takes the Field

*On this date of breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, we celebrated the founding of the World ‘All-Nations’ baseball team in 1912.   This barnstorming professional baseball team toured the American Midwest from 1912 to 1918, 1920 and 1921, and 1923 to 1925. It derived its name from the racial intersectionality of its players. Their roster had […]

Ann Moore-Gregory, Golfer born

*Ann Moore-Gregory was born on this date in 1912. She was an African American golfer and community activist.

Henry Armstrong, Boxer born

On this date, we mark the birth of Henry Armstrong in 1912. He was an African American boxer, the only professional boxer to hold three world championship titles simultaneously.

Quincey Trouppe, Baseball Player and Manager born

*Quincy Trouppe was born on this date in 1912. He was a Black professional baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was born Quincy Thomas Troupe, a native of Dublin, Georgia. In 1946, he changed his spelling to Trouppe. He played in the Mexican League and the Canadian Provincial League. His teams included St. Louis […]

Carl ‘Luz’ Long, Olympian and Soldier born.

*Carl ‘Luz’ Long was born on this date in 1913. He was a white German Olympic long jumper and soldier. Carl Ludwig ‘Luz’ Long was born in Leipzig, Stadtkreis Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.  He studied law at the University of Leipzig, and as a 21-year-old, 1.84-meter-tall (6’½”), Long had finished third in the 1934 European Championships […]

John Dendy, Golfer born

John Dendy’s birth in 1913 is celebrated on this date. He was an Ethiopian American golfer.

Lorenzo ‘Piper’ Davis, Baseball Player born

This date marks the birth of Lorenzo “Piper” Davis, one of Alabama’s all-time best athletes in both baseball and basketball.

He was born in Piper, AL, a coal-mining community in the hills around Birmingham. As a teenager, Davis attended a public high school for colored boys in Fairfield, just up the road from Piper. There he earned a basketball scholarship to Alabama State University in Montgomery. After a single year starring on the Alabama State basketball squad, Davis was forced by family financial circumstances to drop out of college and find a job.

Jesse Owens, Olympic Track & Field Athlete born

This date marks the birth of Jesse Owens in 1913. He was an African American sprinter and businessman and one of the greatest track-and-field athletes of all time.

Bill Spiller, Golf Pioneer born

The birth of Bill Spiller, an African American golfer, in 1913 is remembered on this date.

Louise Mae Stokes Fraser, Olympic Athlete born

*Louise Mae Stokes Fraser was born on this date in 1913. She was a Black track and field athlete. The oldest of six children, Louise Mae Stokes, was born in Malden, Massachusetts, to William, a gardener, and Mary Wesley Stokes, a domestic. She started running while a student at Beebe Junior High, where she was […]

Teddy Rhodes, Golfer born

*The birth of Ted Rhodes is marked on this date in 1913. He was an African American golfer.

Archie Moore, Boxer born.

*This date marks the birth of Archie Moore in 1913. He was an African American boxer and world light-heavyweight champion.

Jersey Joe Walcott, Boxer born

*On this date in 1914, Jersey Joe Walcott was born. He was an African American boxer.

Born Arnold Raymond Cream near Camden, New Jersey, he was raised with eleven brothers and sisters in Merchantville, New Jersey. After the death of his father (when he was fourteen), he began working in a soup factory to support his family; at this time he also began training as a boxer. In 1930 he started his professional career as a lightweight, quickly taking the name, “Jersey Joe Walcott’” in honor of Joe Walcott, a well-known Barbadian welterweight champion.