People, Locations, Episodes

‘Pappy’ Stokes, Golf Caddie born

*”Pappy” Stokes was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black professional golf caddie at the Augusta National Golf Club. Willie Lee “Pappy” Stokes was born on the former grounds of the Fruitlands Nurseries in Augusta, Georgia. This was an Indigofera plant farm where his father had worked. He and his family still […]

The Memphis Red Sox Baseball Team is Formed

*The Memphis Red Sox is celebrated on this date in 1920.  They were a Negro League Baseball team that was active for 40 years.   In 1921 Memphis had two main Negro baseball clubs, the Memphis Union Giants and the A. P. Martin’s Barber Boys Baseball Club. Real estate salesman and bookkeeper Sherman G. King […]

Marion Motley, Pro Football Player born

On this date in 1920, Marion Motley was born. He was an African American football player, who helped desegregate professional football in the 1940s.

It was a career that earned him induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968. From Leesburg, Georgia, he was a fullback and linebacker for both South Carolina State University and the University of Nevada before playing for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station during World War II. His coach there was Paul Brown, who later was named the first coach of the Cleveland Browns in the All-American Football Conference (AAFC).

Bob Ryland, Tennis Player, and Coach born

*Bob Ryland was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black tennis player and coach. Bob Ryland was born in Chicago; his mother and twin brother died of pneumonia when he was a baby. Robert’s father sent him to live with his grandmother in Mobile, Alabama, where he helped his great-grandfather pick cotton. […]

Black History and Stickball, a story

*Stickball’s Black heritage and history are celebrated on this date in 1920. Stickball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game, in large cities in the Northeastern United States (especially New York City and Jersey City). The equipment comprises a broom handle and a rubber ball, typically a spalpeen, pensie pinkie, high bouncer, […]

Herb Trawick, Football Player born

*Herb Trawick was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black professional football player. Trawick was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, PA. He attended Kentucky State University and graduated with a degree in physical education. Collegiately, Trawick was a three-time All-American in football from 1940 to 1942. After school, he enlisted in the […]

Sugar Ray Robinson, Boxer born

Sugar Ray Robinson was born on this date in 1921. He was an African American professional boxer, six times a world champion: once as a welterweight, from 1946 to 1951, and five times as a middleweight, between 1951 and 1960. He is considered by many authorities to have been the best fighter in history.

Toni Stone, Baseball Player born

*Toni Stone’s birth in 1921 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American professional baseball player.

Born Marcenia Lyle Alberga in St. Paul, Minnesota, she began playing ball when she was only 10 years old. Ss a teenager she played with the local boys’ teams in her hometown. During World War II she moved to San Francisco, playing first with an AAGPBL American Legion team, then moving to the San Francisco Sea Lions, a Black, semi-pro barnstorming team; she drove in two runs in her first at-bat.

Wendell O. Scott, Motor Sports Pioneer born

This date marks the birth of Wendell Scott in 1921. He was an African American racecar driver.

Wendell Oliver Scott blended driving talent and determination into a long career on the otherwise all-white NASCAR Grand National tour. He is the only black to win a major-league NASCAR race. Scott was from Danville, Virginia’s “Crooktown” section. His first driving job was as a taxi driver. Later he hauled illegal whiskey, an occupation that called for skills as both a high-performance mechanic and a fearless driver.

Angelo Dundee, Boxing Coach born

*Angelo Dundee was born on this date in 1921.  He was a white-Italian-American boxing trainer and cornerman.   Dundee was born Angelo Mirena in Philadelphia to Italian immigrant parents Filomena Cianelli, mother of seven children, and Angelo Merenda, a railway construction worker, an Italian native from Reggiano Gravina. The father’s name was erroneously transcribed in […]

Bill Willis, Football Player born

*Bill Willis was born on this date in 1921.  He was a Black professional football defensive lineman.   William Karnet Willis was from Columbus, Ohio. Willis attended Ohio State University, where he joined the track and football teams. He was part of a Buckeyes football team that won the school’s first national championship in 1942. After graduating in 1944, Willis heard about a new […]

Roy Campanella, Baseball Player born

On this date we mark the birth of Roy Campanella, an African American baseball player, in 1921.

“Campy,” as he was called, was from Homestead, PA. He began playing semiprofessional baseball on the Nicetown, Philadelphia, sandlots when he was 13, and at 15 he was signed to play in the Negro leagues. He joined the Dodgers in 1948 and was their regular catcher from 1949 until an automobile accident after the 1957 season left him paralyzed.

Charlie Sifford, Professional Golfer born

*Charlie Sifford was born on this date in 1922. He was an African American professional golfer.

Nat Clifton, Basketball Player born

*Nat Clifton was born on this date in 1922. He was an African American basketball player.

Born in England, Arkansas, Clifton’s and his family moved to Chicago when he was eight. His birth name was Clifton Nathaniel, but after he became a high school star athlete he reversed the two names when sportswriters complained that the last name Nathaniel was too long to fit in a headline. The nickname “Sweetwater” (or “Sweets”) is often reported to have come from his fondness for soft drinks, especially sugarwater.

The Harlem Renaissance Basketball Team is Formed

*The Harlem Renaissance basketball team started on this date in 1923.  Also known as the Renaissance Big Five and as the Rens, it was an all-Black professional basketball team established by Robert “Bob” Douglas in agreement with the Renaissance Casino and Ballroom.  The Casino and Ballroom at 138th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem was […]