Learn African American Sports Firsts

Learn the legendary athletes of African American sports history.

44 free flashcards · by Ben · Miscellaneous / Sports

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What you'll learn in African American Sports Firsts

• First African American to play professional baseball at the major-league level — (Possibly) Moses Fleetwood Walker
• First African American to compete in the U.S. Open Golf Championship — John Shippen
• First African American to win a gold medal at the Track Cycling World Championships — Major Taylor
• First African American professional basketball player — Harry Lew
• First African-American professional American football player — Charles Follis
• First African American boxing champion — Joe Gans
• First African American to participate in the Olympic Games and first to win a medal (track and field) — George Poage
• First African American heavyweight boxing champion — Jack Johnson
• First African American Olympic gold medal winner (track and field medley relay team) — John Taylor
• First African American woman to win a major sports title (tennis) — Lucy Diggs Slowe
• First African American NFL football players — Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall
• First African American NFL football coach — Fritz Pollard
• First African American to win individual Olympic gold medal (Long jump, 1924 Summer Olympics) — DeHart Hubbard
• First African American sportscaster — Sherman “Jocko” Maxwell
• First African American to sign a contract with an NFL team in the modern era — Kenny Washington
• First African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era — Jackie Robinson
• First African-American Major League Baseball player in the American League — Larry Doby
• First African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal (high jump) — Alice Coachman
• First African American to design and construct a professional golf course — Bill Powell
• First African American NBA basketball players — Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd
• First African American named to the College Football Hall of Fame — Duke Slater
• First African American quarterback to play in the NFL during the modern era — Willie Thrower
• First African American Wimbledon tennis champion and first Grand Slam winner — Althea Gibson
• First African American to win the Cy Young Award — Don Newcombe
• First Black player to play in the NHL — Willie O'Ree
• First African American to win the Heisman Trophy — Ernie Davis
• First African American to join the PGA Tour — Charlie Sifford
• First African American coach in Major League Baseball — Buck O'Neil
• First African American to win a NASCAR Grand National event — Wendell Scott
• First African American to join the LPGA — Althea Gibson
• First African American coach in the NBA — Bill Russell
• First African American to win a PGA Tour event — Charlie Sifford
• First African-American man to win a Grand Slam tennis event — Arthur Ashe
• First African-American NCAA Division I basketball coach — Will Robinson
• First African-American Super Bowl MVP — Franco Harris
• First African-American Division I-A football head coach — Willie Jeffries
• First African American to play in the NHL — Val James
• First African-American Formula One driver — Willy T. Ribbs
• First African-American NFL head coach of the modern era — Art Shell
• First African-American MLB manager to win the World Series — Cito Gaston
• First African-American golfer to win a major championship — Tiger Woods
• First African-American UFC champion — Maurice Smith
• First African-American Winter Olympic gold medalist — Vonetta Flowers
• First African American to become majority owner of a U.S. major sports league team — Robert L. Johnson

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