You Call Yourself a Sports Fan? Here Are 7 Facts About Blacks in Sports You Might Not Know

The 1965-66 Texas Western University Men's Basketball Team Basketball was an integrated sport by the mid-1960s, but the notion persisted that Black players were mainly interested in "showboating" and needed the steadying hand of white leadership. That notion came to an end when Texas Western used an all-Black starting lineup for the first time in NCAA championship history on March 19, 1966, to beat all-white Kentucky for the national title. After that, it was not long before all-white teams started integrating their squads, forever changing the game. Burl Toler In 1965, Toler became the first Black person to officiate an NFL game. He was a dynamic football player in college at the University of San Francisco, an offensive lineman and linebacker. But a severe knee injury in a college all-star game ended his playing career. He spent 25 years as a field judge and head linesman in the NFL. He was head linesman in Pittsburgh's 31-19 Super Bowl victory over the then-Los Angeles Rams in 1980. He died in 2009 at 81. Johnny Grier became the first Black referee in 1988. In ’66, Emmett Ashford became the first Black umpire in Major League Baseball, and three years later Jackie White broke the color barrier in the NBA as the first Black referee. Willie O’Ree On Jan. 18, 1958, playing for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens, O'Ree became the first Black person to play in the National Hockey League. He was a Black Canadian who paved the way for future players of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds, including Valmore James, who became the first American-born Black to play in the NHL a year later. But James played junior hockey in Quebec, making Mike Grier in 1996 the first Black to play in the NHL whose entire career was spent in America. Oliver Lewis In 1875 at the first Kentucky Derby, Oliver Lewis became the first Black jockey to win horse racing’s most coveted event. Lewis was born free in 1856 in a small town in Kentucky. He was only 19 years old when he won the Run for the Roses at what was then the Louisville Jockey Club on May 17, 1875, but is now known as Churchill Downs. Vonetta Flowers At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Flowers, along with rider Jill Bakken, won the gold medal in the two-woman bobsled becoming the first Black person to win a gold medal in the Winter Games. She gave birth to twins the next year and retired from competition in 2006. Willie Thrower Known as "Mitts" for his large hands, he was the first Black person to play quarterback in the NFL, with the Chicago Bears in 1953. Thrower (what a name for a quarterback?) was part of the 1952 Michigan State team that won the national championship. He was known for his arm strength and was said to be able to throw the ball 70 yards. DeHart Hubbard Hubbard was the first Black person to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. He took gold in the 1924 Paris Summer Games long jump. He subsequently set a long jump world record of 25 feet 10 inches in Chicago in June 1925 and equaled the world record of 9.6 seconds for the 100-yard dash in Cincinnati a year later. He went to the University of Michigan.

Related Stories

‘Just Nasty Work’: Wife of Miami Dolphins Star Under Fire for Calling Kamala Harris ‘Garbage’ Weeks After Brittany Mahomes Was Dragged for Supporting Trump Despite Having Biracial Kids

‘Steph Will Be In LA’: Steph Curry and LeBron James Could’ve Been Teammates, According to Recent Report

‘Jordan Better Be Careful’: Fans Rally to ‘Protect MJ’ as Michael Jordan’s Shocking Move Against NASCAR Sparks Fear for the NBA Legend’s Safety