What Was One of the First Sports to Be Racially Integrated?

The United States has a long, complicated history when it comes to race relations. One of the first sports to be racially integrated was baseball.

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Baseball

In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. This event not only broke the color barrier in baseball, but it also opened the door for other professional sports to become more racially integrated. From then on, baseball has been one of the most diverse sports in the world.

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson is best known for breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947, but he was also one of the first African American athletes to play in any professional sport. His courage and determination paved the way for other black athletes to follow in his footsteps and pursue their dreams.

Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, in 1919. He was one of nine children born to a sharecropper family. His father abandoned the family when Jackie was only six years old. As a young man, Jackie excelled in both academics and athletics. After high school, he attended the all-black Morehouse College in Atlanta on a basketball scholarship. He eventually transferred to UCLA, where he became the school’s first four-letter athlete.

In 1942, Robinson was drafted into the military during World War II. He served as an officer in an all-black cavalry unit until he was arrested and court-martialed for refusing to move to the back of a bus. The charges were later dropped, but Robinson’s case brought national attention to the issue of racial segregation in the military.

After his discharge from the military, Robinson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization and was assigned to their minor league team in Montreal. In 1947, he was called up to the major leagues, making him the first African American player in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Robinson faced widespread racism and death threats during his rookie season with the Dodgers. He responded by playing with dignity and courage, leading his team to victory in the World Series that year. He went on to play for 10 seasons with the Dodgers, winning numerous awards and becoming one of baseball’s biggest stars. After retiring from baseball, he remained active in promoting civil rights until his death in 1972.

Branch Rickey

Branch Rickey was one of baseball’s first racially conscious figures. He began his career in baseball in 1904 as a catcher for the St. Louis Browns. In 1913, he became the team’s manager, a position he would hold until 1917 when he was traded to the New York Yankees. It was during Rickey’s tenure with the Yankees that he first began to consider the issue of race in baseball. In 1915, he signed Satchmo Sisson, one of the few black professional players at the time, to a minor league contract with the Yankees.

In 1919, Rickey became the president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Under his leadership, the Dodgers became known as “Dem Bums” and were one of the most successful teams in baseball. Rickey is also credited with signing Jackie Robinson to a professional contract in 1947, making him the first African American player in Major League Baseball.

Football

In the early days of football, the game was mostly played by wealthy, white males. However, as the sport began to grow in popularity, people of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds began to participate. In 1892, the first professional football player, William “Pudge” Heffelfinger, was paid to play in a game. From that point on, football became increasingly racially integrated. In the early 1900s, black players were still barred from playing in the NFL, but they were able to compete in other leagues. Eventually, in 1946, the NFL began to integrate, and today the league is made up of players of all races and ethnicities.

Kenny Washington

Kenny Washington was one of the first African American football players in the NFL. He played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1946 to 1948. He was an All-Pro player in his first year and helped lead the Rams to a championship in his second year. He is considered one of the pioneers of racial integration in football.

Woody Strode

Woody Strode was an African American football player who was one of the first to be racially integrated in the sport. He played for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1940s and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Tennis

While many people assume that baseball was the first sport to be racially integrated, that distinction actually goes to tennis. In 1891, the United States Lawn Tennis Association held its first tournament and included both black and white players. This was a significant milestone in the history of tennis.

Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson became the first African American woman athlete to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first person of color of either gender to win a Grand Slam title when she won both Wimbledon and the U.S. National Singles Championship. She went on to win both again in 1957 and 1958. Additionally, Gibson was a member of eleven championship teams in doubles and mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Nationals, and the French Nationals between 1956 and 1958.