People, Locations, Episodes

Frank Leland, Baseball Player, Coach, Manager, and Owner born

*The birth of Frank Leland is celebrated on this date in 1869. He was a Black baseball player, field manager, and club owner in the Negro Leagues. Frank C. Leland was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, graduating in 1886. He began his professional baseball career with the Washington Capital Cities in […]

Black History and American Professional Football, a story

*African American contributions in professional American football are many. We show a lengthy legacy directly reflecting United States society.

Willie Simms, Horse Jockey born

Willie Simms was born on this date in 1870. He was an African American horse jockey.

Born near Augusta, GA, Simms began racing in 1887, and was one of the most successful to use the short stirrup that gave the rider a crouching posture. En route to winning the United States riding title in 1893 and 1894, Simms won back-to-back Belmont Stakes. The following year, he raced in England where he became the first American jockey to win with an American horse in that country. In America, Simms won the 1896 Kentucky Derby in its first time as a one and a quarter mile race.

George Jewett Jr., Collegiate Football Letterman and Doctor born

*George Jewett Jr. was born on this date in 1870.  He was a Black doctor, businessman, and one of the first Black collegiate football lettermen.   George Jewett Jr. grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan; his father was George Jewett, a blacksmith born in Kentucky, and his mother, Letty Jewett, was born in Michigan. He had an older sister, […]

Black History in Golf, a story

*With the week of the Masters Golf Tournament underway, African American history in American golf is remembered on this date. Beginning with Reconstruction, African Americans and golf have a long, rich history.

George Dixon, Canadian Boxer born

On this date in 1870, George Dixon was born. He was an African Canadian boxer.

Nicknamed Little Chocolate, Dixon was from Africville, Nova Scotia, Canada and fought as a featherweight. He was the first Black to win a world boxing championship. He is considered one of the best fighters in the history of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.

Bill Pickett, Cowboy born

William Pickett was born on this date in 1870. He was a legendary cowboy of Black and Indian descent.

Bill Pickett, the second of 13 children, began his career as a cowboy while in grade school. Pickett soon began giving exhibitions of his roping, riding, and bulldogging skills, passing a hat for donations. By 1888, his family had moved to Taylor, Texas, and Bill performed in the town’s first fair that year. He and his brothers started a horse-breaking business in Taylor, and he was a member of the National Guard and a deacon of the Baptist church.

Joe Walcott, Boxer born

*Joe Walcott was born on this date in 1873. He was a Black boxer.

From Barbados, British West Indies, he came to the United States in 1887 and lived in, and fought out, of Boston, Massachusetts. At 5-1 1/2 and 133-148 pounds, he was a short, squat fighter with long arms and an extremely powerful punch; he was also quick and durable. Managed by Tom O’Rourke, Walcott was one of the greatest “pound for pound” fighters in boxing history and fought men weighing from lightweight to heavyweight during his career.

Charles Grant Jr., Baseball player born

*Charles Grant Jr. was born on this date in 1874. He was a Black baseball player in Negro League baseball before the formal league was created.  Grant was born in Cincinnati, the son of an African American horse trainer, Charles Grant, and his mother, Mary.  A good fielder, Grant was of “medium height,” weighed approximately 160 pounds, and hit right-handed.  Charlie Grant joined the Page […]

Joe Gans, Boxer born

On this date, Joe Gans, African American professional boxer, was born in 1874.

Born in Baltimore, Joseph Gaines (his name at birth) was a legend in the sport. Because he was black, he was compelled by boxing promoters to permit less-talented white fighters to last the scheduled number of rounds with him and occasionally to defeat him. He was also forced to fight at unnaturally low weights, and, perhaps as a result, he was so weakened that he contracted tuberculosis and died while a young man.

John M. Shippen, Jr., Golfer born

John Mathew Shippen, Jr., was born on this date in 1874. He was an African American golfer.

Black Heritage And Professional Hockey, a story

*The Registry remembers Black contributions in the sport of professional hockey on this date. A historical overview of Black players in hockey is very interesting.

Black Horse Jockey Wins The First Kentucky Derby

On this date in 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was run with a Black man as the winning jockey.

He (Oliver Lewis) rode three-year-old Aristide in record time winning the race.

Alonzo ‘Lonnie’ Clayton, Horse Jockey born

*The birth of Alonzo “Lonnie” Clayton in 1876 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American horse jockey.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1876, Clayton followed his brother into the riding profession. He launched his career on the track as an exerciser rider for E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin in Chicago during the summer of 1888. He stayed with Baldwin for about a year before moving on to work for D.A. Honig’s horses in Clifton, N.J. He rode a horse named Redstone in his first race in 1890 at the Clifton track, and earned his first career victory in 1891.

Dangerfield Talbert, Baseball Player born

*Dangerfield Talbert was born on this date in 1878. He was a Black baseball third baseman in pre-Negro League baseball. Dangerfield F. Talbert was born in Platte City, Missouri, and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, attending the public schools there. He began his career as a baseball player at Omaha High School, working as a catcher at […]