People, Locations, Episodes

John Baxter Taylor, Olympian and Veterinarian born

*John Baxter Taylor Jr. was born on this date in 1884. He was an African American veterinarian and Olympic track star.

John Lloyd, Baseball Player, and Manager born

On this date, John Henry Lloyd was born in 1884. He was an African American baseball player and manager in the Negro leagues, considered one of the greatest shortstops in the game.

John P. Turner, Doctor born

*John P. Turner was born on this date in 1885.  He was a Black doctor.  John Patrick Turner was born in Raleigh, NC., the son of Jesse Edward and Virginia Turner.  After the family moved north, he attended public schools in Raleigh and NYC public school number 60.  At age 17, he enrolled at Shaw […]

Sam Langford, Canadian Boxer born

*Sam Langford was born on this date in 1886. He was an Black Canadian boxer known as the Boston Tar Baby and the Boston Terror.

He was a well-known and respected boxer on three continents in the early 1900’s. Sam Langford was considered to be one of the most punishing punchers in boxing history.

Joseph Williams, Baseball Player born

*Joseph Williams was born on this date in 1886. He was a Black right-handed pitcher in the Negro Baseball League. Williams was born in Seguin, Texas; his father was Black, and his mother was a Comanche Native American. He grew up to become an outstanding baseball pitcher. Still, as his path to the major leagues was […]

Jose Mendez, Baseball Player born

*Jose’ Mendez was born on this date in 1887. He was an Afro Cuban baseball player from Cardenas, Cuba who was a pitcher and shortstop in the Negro Leagues.

Ben Taylor, Baseball Player born

Ben Taylor was born on this date in 1888. He was an African American baseball player of the Negro Leagues.

John Howard Armstrong, Track Athlete born

*John Armstrong Howard was born on this date in 1888.   He was a Black Canadian track and field athlete, Canada’s first Black Olympic athlete.     Born in the United States, he was the son of Robert and Cornelia Howard; he came to Winnipeg with his father in 1907, who worked as a mechanic at the […]

‘Bullet Joe’ Rogan, Baseball Player born

*The birth of Wilbur Rogan in 1889 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American baseball player.

The First Black Man Becomes Boxing Champ in America

*On this in 1890, George “Little Chocolate” Dixon knocked out Cal McCarthy.

Dixon became the first Black world champion in boxing and the first Black man to hold an American title in any sport.

John Donaldson, Baseball Player born

*John Donaldson was born on this date in 1891.  He was a Black baseball pitcher in Pre-Negro league and Negro League baseball.  John Wesley Donaldson was born in Glasgow, Missouri; very little is known about his parents, siblings, or childhood.   Donaldson’s early career was spent playing for the Missouri Black Tigers of nearby Higbee, Missouri, in 1908, and subsequently for the […]

Black History and American College Basketball 🏀, a story

*With March Madness beginning, on this date we remember African Americans in the history of American college basketball.

Bill Lindsay, Baseball Player born

*Bill Lindsay was born on this date in 1891. Nicknamed “The Kansas Cyclone” and “Lightning,” he was a Black baseball pitcher for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. William Bill Lindsay’s parents were Peter Lindsay and Mona Mady Lindsay from Lexington, Missouri. He started his career with the Kansas City, […]

Bessie Coleman, Aviator born

*Bessie Coleman was born on this date in 1892. She was an African American woman pilot and the first woman aviator and stunt-flier in the United States.

Black History and American College Football, a story

College football is in the air and African American involvement at the collegiate level is rich with tradition.