Negro National Baseball League [Baseball]
Professional Baseball League, February 14, 1920
Kansas City, Missouri
African-American entrepeneur Rube Foster and partner John Schorling (who founded the Chicago American Giants in 1911) joined with other owners at the Kansas City YMCA to form the Negro National League. The eight teams included the Chicago Giants, Chicago American Giants, Kansas City Monarchs, Indianapolis ABCs, Dayton Marcos, St. Louis Giants, Detroit Stars, and the Cuban Stars from New York. A few months later, the Negro Southern League formed which fielded teams from Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham, Nashville, Jacksonville, Montgomery, and Memphis. With Foster's mental illness and death in 1930, the NNL folded shortly afterwards, in 1932.

Eastern Colored League [Baseball]
Professional Baseball League, December 16, 1923
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attracted by the success of the NNL, white businessmen Nat Strong and Ed Bolden formed the ECL. Its teams included the Philadelphia Hilldales, Baltimore Black Sox, Brooklyn Royal Giants, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, and the New York Lincoln Giants. The ECL folded in 1928.

Negro League World Series [Baseball]
Negro League World series, baseball, 1924
Kansas City, Missouri
In the first Negro League World Series between the Kansas City Monarchs (NNL) and the Philadelphia Hilldales, the Monarchs won the series in ten games.

Negro Baseball Leagues [Baseball]
Professional Baseball League, 1937
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Beginning in 1932, African-American baseball players tried to reestablish a league. The Negro National League (1933-1948) founded by W. A. "Gus" Greenlee and the Negro American League founded by H. G. Hall (1937-1960) emerged as the most important leagues in the last years of segregated baseball. In 1942, in the first Negro World Series since 1927, the Kansas City Monarchs (NAL), behind the pitching of Satchel Paige defeated the favored Homestead (Pittsburgh) Grays (NNL).

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson [Baseball]
National League Baseball, August 28, 1945
Brooklyn, New York
Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to break the color line in professional baseball.

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson [Baseball]
Montreal Royals, Exhibition Game, March 17, 1946
Daytona Beach, Florida
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson became the first African American to play in a professional exhibition baseball game, pitting the minor league Royals against the major league Brooklyn Dodgers.

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson [Baseball]
Montreal Royals, April 18, 1946
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jackie Robinson led the Montreal Royals to victory in the minor league team's season opener.

Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby [Baseball]
Cleveland Indians, American League Baseball, July 3, 1947
Cleveland, Ohio
Larry Doby became the first African-American ball player in the American League.

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson [Baseball]
Brooklyn Dodgers, National League Baseball, April 15, 1947
Brooklyn, New York
Jackie Robinson's debut at Ebbets Field with the Brooklyn Dodgers marked the beginning of the end of segregation in major league baseball.

Roy Campanella [Baseball]
Wheaties Cereal Box Cover Portrait, General Mills, 1952
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The first African American featured on the "Breakfast of Champions" was Brooklyn Dodgers catcher, Roy Campanella, in 1952. The first African-American football player appeared in 1986, Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears. Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls debuted as Wheaties' first African-American basketball champion in 1988. The first African-American woman to appear, in a group portrait of the 1996 Gold Medal Olympic team, was Dominique Dawes. Michael Johnson (1996, track), Arthur Ashe (1997, tennis) and Tiger Woods (1998, golf) round out those African Americans who were first to be honored in their sport category.

Marcenia Lyle Alberga "Toni" Stone [Baseball]
Negro Leagues Baseball, 1953
Indianapolis, Indiana
Toni Stone was the first African-American woman to play in the Negro Leagues, on the men's Indianapolis Clowns team.

Sam Jones [Baseball]
Chicago Cubs, May 12, 1955
Chicago, Illinois
Sam Jones was the first black pitcher in major league baseball to pitch a no-hitter, at Wrigley Field. He was on his way to a second no-hitter in September, 1959, when it was rained out in the 7th inning.

John "Buck" O'Neil [Baseball]
Chicago Cubs, 1962
Chicago, Illinois
In 1962, John O'Neil became major league baseball's first African-American coach.

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson [Baseball]
Baseball Hall of Fame, July 23, 1962
Cooperstown, New York
Jackie Robinson was the first African-American baseball player to be inducted in baseball's Hall of Fame. He was also the first baseball player ever to be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Emmett Ashford [Baseball]
Major League Baseball, 1966
New York City, New York
In 1966, Emmett Ashford became the first African-American umpire in major league baseball's American League; he had broken the color line as an umpire in the minors in 1951. The National League's first African-American umpire, Art Williams, began officiating in 1973.

LeRoy "Satchel" Paige [Baseball]
Hall of Fame, 1971
Cooperstown, New York
In 1971, Satchel Paige, the legendary pitcher, was the first Negro League player to be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.

Hank Aaron [Baseball]
Major League Baseball, April 8, 1974
Atlanta, Georgia
In the season opener, Atlanta Braves' Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record as career home run king by slugging his 715th home run. As a minor leaguer, he became the first African American to play in the Jacksonville stadium padlocked to Jackie Robinson. He concluded his career with 755 home runs.

Frank Robinson [Baseball]
Major League Baseball, April 8, 1975
Cleveland, Ohio
The first African-American manager in major league baseball, Frank Robinson worked hard as a player-manager for the Cleveland Indians.

William D. "Bill" White [Baseball]
Major League Baseball, February 3, 1989
Lakewood, Florida
The first African American named as a league president in major league baseball was Florida-born Bill White, who became president of the National League serving from 1989 to 1994.

Barry Bonds [Baseball]
Major League Baseball, October 7, 2001
San Francisco, California
On October 7, 2001 in Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco, San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run of the season, surpassing previous recordholder Mark McGwire's mark of 70 home runs.