Black History Month- Landing Pages
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African-American Firsts: Sports

Major league baseball player: Jackie Robinson, 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers.

Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame: Jackie Robinson, 1962.

NFL quarterback: Willie Thrower, 1953.

NFL football coach: Fritz Pollard, 1922–1937.

Golf champion: Tiger Woods, 1997, won the Masters golf tournament.

NHL hockey player: Willie O’Ree, 1958, Boston Bruins.1

World cycling champion: Marshall W. “Major” Taylor, 1899.

Tennis champion: Althea Gibson became the first black person to play in and win Wimbledon and the United States national tennis championship. She won both tournaments twice, in 1957 and 1958. In all, Gibson won 56 tournaments, including five Grand Slam singles events. The first black male champion was Arthur Ashe who won the 1968 U.S. Open, the 1970 Australian Open, and the 1975 Wimbledon championship.

Heavyweight boxing champion: Jack Johnson, 1908.

Olympic medalist (Summer games): George Poage, 1904, won two bronze medals in the 200 m hurdles and 400 m hurdles.

Olympic gold medalist (Summer games): John Baxter “Doc” Taylor, 1908, won a gold medal as part of the 4 x 400 m relay team.

Olympic gold medalist (Summer games; individual): DeHart Hubbard, 1924, for the long jump; the first woman was Alice Coachman, who won the high jump in 1948.

Olympic medalist (Winter games): Debi Thomas, 1988, won the bronze in figure skating.

Olympic gold medalist (Winter games): Vonetta Flowers, 2002, bobsled.

Olympic gold medalist (Winter games; individual): Shani Davis, 2006, 1,000 m speedskating.