People, Locations, Episodes

Harrison Dillard, Olympic Legend born

William Harrison Dillard was born on this date in 1923. He was an African American Olympic track and field athlete.

Alice Coachman, Track and Field Athlete born

On this date we remember the birth of Alice Coachman in 1923. She was an African American athlete who was the first black woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal.

From Albany, Georgia, the fifth of Fred and Evelyn Coachman’s ten children, Coachman grew up in the segregated South. Barred from public sports facilities because of her race, Coachman used whatever materials she could piece together to practice jumping. Coping with a society that discouraged women from being involved in sports, Coachman struggled to develop as an athlete.

Larry Doby, Baseball Player born

*Larry Doby was born on this date in 1923. He was an African American baseball player.

Joe Black, Baseball Pitcher born

*Joe Black was born on this date in 1924. He was an African American baseball player in the Negro Leagues and author.

A native of Plainfield, N.J., Black graduated from Morgan State in 1950 and later received an honorary doctorate from Shaw University. Black was 28 when he reached the majors after helping the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues win two championships in seven years. He roomed with Robinson while with Brooklyn, pushed for a pension plan for Negro League players and was instrumental in the inclusion of players who played before 1947.

Clarence Gaines, Basketball Coach, and Athletic Director born

Clarence (“Big House”) Gaines was born on this date in 1924. He was an African American college basketball coach and athletic director.

He was born in Paducah, Kentucky, where he attended Lincoln High School, graduating in 1941. He played basketball for three years; and was a one-time All-Conference and All-State athlete. From there he attended Morgan State, in Baltimore, MD, graduating in 1945. He began coaching the following year at Winston-Salem University. College basketball may never find a more caring, sensitive and dedicated coach than Clarence “Big House” Gaines.

Danny Davis, Boxer, and Community Advocate born

Danny Davis was born on this date in 1929. He was an African American boxer, businessman, and community activist.

Daniel Webster Davis was from Minneapolis, MN, one of 11 children of Bessie and Clinton Davis. He was very close to his mother and graduated from Minneapolis North High School. As a young boy, he was active in the Phyllis Wheatley settlement house in North Minneapolis and took part in its many programs, one of which was boxing.

Baseball’s First ‘Colored World Series’ Is Played

On this date in 1924, the first “Colored World Series” of baseball began in Chicago.

The Kansas City Monarchs played the Philadelphia Hilldales. The Monarchs finished at 55-22, ahead of the Chicago American Giants and the Hilldales were at 47-22 ahead of the Baltimore Black Sox.

A nine game series went the full length. The deciding game was a three-hit shutout by Jose Mendez of the Monarchs, final score K. C.,5; Philly,0.

Mal Whitfield, Athlete, and Soldier born

*Mal Whitfield was born on this date in 1924. He was an African American track athlete, goodwill ambassador, and Tuskegee airman.

The Birmingham Black Barons Baseball Team is Formed

This date in 1924 celebrates the Birmingham Black Barons baseball organization. They were one of many Negro League Baseball teams of the 20th century.

More than 30 communities located primarily in the Midwest, northeast, and south were home to these franchises organized into 6 different leagues. Coming up from Birmingham’s active industrial leagues, in 1920 the club became a charter franchise in the Negro South League. Through its long history the club was at various times associated with the Negro Southern League, Negro National League, and Negro American League.

The United Golfers Association is Formed

*The United Golfers Association (UGA) is celebrated on this date in 1925. This group of African American professional golfers operated a separate series of professional golf tournaments for Blacks amid racial segregation in the United States. It was said to have started in 1925 when George Adams became a founding member and in 1926 by Robert Hawkins, a golfer […]

Emlen Tunnell, Football Player born

*Emlen Tunnell was born on this date in 1925. He was an African American football player, the first Black man inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

Minnie Miñoso, Baseball Player born

*Minnie Miñoso was born on this date in 1925.  He was an Afro Cuban baseball player and coach.   Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta was born in Perico, Cuba, near Havana, the son of Carlos Arrieta and Cecilia Armas.  His father worked in the fields of the sugarcane plantation on which the family lived. His […]

Hank Thompson, Baseball Player born

Hank Thompson, an African American baseball player, was born on this date in 1925.

Sam Jones, Baseball Pitcher, born

Sam Jones was born on this date in 1925. He was an African American baseball player.

Jones, born in Stewartsville, Ohio, pitched the Cleveland Buckeyes to the Negro World Series in 1947. He was known as Red in the Negro leagues for his reddish complexion. In the majors, Jones became Sad Sam, after the original Sad Sam Jones, and Toothpick Sam for the toothpick he always chewed on the mound.

He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1950, but the rotation of Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, and Mike Garcia was a tough one to get into.

Ralph Branca, Baseball Player born

*Ralph Branca was born on this date in 1926. He was a white Jewish American professional baseball pitcher and civil rights activist through his friendship with Jackie Robinson against segregation in American professional baseball.