Ed Brown [Horseracing]
Belmont Stakes, Thoroughbred Racing, 1870
New York City, New York
Ed Brown became the first African-American jockey to win the Belmont Stakes, on Kingfisher. The Belmont would evolve into the final leg of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown.

John Shippen, Jr. [Golf]
U.S. Open, PGA , 1896
Southampton, New York
In the second U.S. Open of 1896, African-American golfer John Shippen, Jr. placed fifth in the 36-hole event. He played in six U.S. Opens, the final one in 1913. That appearance marked the last appearance by an African-American golfer until 1948, when Teddy Rhodes played in the U.S. Open.

Smart Set Athletic Club [Basketball]
Basketball Club, 1906
Brooklyn, New York
This was the first organized basketball club for African-American men, and an Interscholastic Athletic Association of the Middle States (ISAA) member. By World War I Smart Set had also formed a women's basketball team.

Mabel Fairbanks [Figure Skating]
United States Professional Skating Association, March 25, 1916
New York City, New York
Developing her skills at the ice rink in Central Park, Mabel Fairbanks performed with the Rhapsody on Ice and Frost Follies. Without informing them of her race, Fairbanks obtained membership in the USPSA. She became a coach to Olympians Scott Hamilton, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, and Kristi Yamaguchi. In 1997 she was the first African-American coach inducted in the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Charlie Smoot [Horseracing]
Beverwyck Steepchase, 1916, 1926, 1933
Beverwyck, New York
Charlie Smoot rode three times over a seventeen-year period to capture the Beverwyck Handicap.

Robert J. Douglas [Basketball]
New York Renaissance Basketball Team, November 30, 1923
New York City, New York
Robert Douglas organized and coached the team which made its professional debut playing the Collegiate Big Five. The team won 2,588 games before it disbanded in 1949. Douglas was the first African American inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

American Basketball Association [Basketball]
Professional Basketball League , 1925
Brooklyn, New York
When the ABA organized, it adopted a Jim Crow policy excluding African-American players.

New York Brown Bombers [Football]
Professional Football , 1935
New York City, New York
Fritz Pollard formed this African-American football team (named for African-American heavyweight boxer Joe Louis) after the NFL adopted a policy of segregation.

William "Dolly" King [Basketball]
National Amateur Athletic Union Basketball Tournament, 1937
Brooklyn, New York
William King, a member of the Long Island University basketball team, was the first African-American man to play in the national AAU tournament. He subsequently played basketball professionally for African-American teams including the Scranton Miners, New York Renaissance, and Washington Bears. In 1946, he played for the National Basketball League's Rochester Royals.

John Davis [Weightlifting]
Weightlifting, 1938
Smithtown, New York
In 1938, 17-year-old John Davis became the youngest and first African-American world champion weightlifter (in the light heavyweight category.) He subsequently won the gold medal in this category in the 1948 and 1952 Olympic games.

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]
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.

Dr. Reginald Weir [Tennis]
U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, March 11, 1948
New York City, New York
Reginald Weir was the first African-American man to compete in the U.S. Indoor Lawn Tennis Championship.

Earl Lloyd [Basketball]
Washington Capitols, National Basketball Association, October 31, 1950
Rochester, New York
Drafted in the same year as Chuck Cooper, Lloyd was the first African American to play in an NBA game, against the Rochester Royals. The Capitols lost, 78-70.

Althea Gibson [Tennis]
U.S. Open, United States Lawn Tennis Association, August 28, 1950
Forest Hills, New York
Althea Gibson was the first African American ever to play in the U.S. Open. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam event, the clay surface French Open. She became the first African American to win a women's title at the U.S. Open in 1957 and repeated her victory in 1958. Althea Gibson also was the first African American to win the All-England Lawn Tennis Women's Singles Championship at Wimbledon in 1957 and repeated in 1958. After retiring from tennis, she became the first African-American woman to earn her card in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), in 1964.

Reginald Weir and George Stewart [Tennis]
U.S. Open, United States Lawn Tennis Association, August 29, 1952
Forest Hills, New York
Two years after Althea Gibson integrated the U.S. Open for women, African-American men participated. Reginald Weir became the first of the two men to compete in the first round of the Open; George Stewart played the next day.

Ernie Davis [Football]
Heisman Memorial Trophy, Downtown Athletic Club , 1961
New York City, New York
Syracuse halfback Ernie Davis was the first African-American recipient of collegiate football's highest honor. He died of leukemia only two years later.

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.

George Braithwaite [Table Tennis]
Table Tennis (Ping Pong diplomacy), 1971
New York City, New York
George Braithwaite, a Guyana born immigrant to New York of African ancestry, was a member of the ping pong team that visited the People's Republic of China and paved the way for normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

American Double Dutch League [Jump Rope]
USA Jump Rope Federation, February 14, 1974
New York City, New York
Two New York City Police Community Affairs officers joined with local physical education teachers to organize the first double dutch jump rope tournament held in Harlem at I.S. 10 (Frederick Douglass Academy). This grew into the American Double Dutch League and in 1995 was formerly organized as the USA Jump Rope Federation.

Dr. LeRoy T. Walker [Track and Field]
1976 Summer Olympic Games, 1976
New York City, New York
Dr. LeRoy Walker, from Harlem in New York, was the first African American to serve as head coach for a U.S. Olympic team. He was coach to the U.S. track and field team at the Montreal Olympics.

Allen J. Coage and Lloyd Keaser [Martial Arts]
1976 Summer Olympic Games, 1976
New York City, New York
Allen J. Coage is the first African American to win a medal for judo in the Olympics. In Montreal he earned a bronze in the heavyweight category. Lloyd Keaser is the first African American to medal in wrestling at the Olympics. He won the silver for freestyle wrestling in the 149 pound category.

Lillian Greene-Chamberlain [Track and Field]
United Nations, 1978
New York City, New York
Lillian Greene-Chamberlain, the first African-American woman distance runner in international events was named as the first woman to be director for Physical Education and Sport Programs for UNESCO.

Willie Davenport and Jeff Gadley [Bobsled]
1980 Winter Olympic Games, February 24, 1980
Lake Placid, New York
Willie Davenport (a summer games hurdler) and Jeff Gadley (a summer games decathlete) were the first African-American men to participate in the Winter Olympics. They competed in the four-man bobsled teams.

Debra "Debi" Thomas [Figure Skating]
U.S. and World Figure Skating Championship, 1986
Poughkeepsie, New York
In 1986, New York-born Debi Thomas became the first African American women's figure skater to capture the U.S. and World Championship. Two years later, Debi went on to win the bronze medal at the 1988 Calgary Olympic games.

Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer [Basketball]
National Basketball Association, 1997
New York City, New York
The NBA hired the first African-American women referees for its regular season roster in 1997.

Women's National Basketball Association [Basketball]
Women's Professional Basketball, 1997
New York City, New York
In June 1997, the NBA formed the eight-team WNBA. Former U.S. Olympic African-American standouts Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks) and Sheryl Swoopes (Houston Comets) helped to popularize the league. Swoopes is the first woman to have an athletic shoe named after her "Air Swoopes."

Bill Lester [Auto Racing]
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, June 27, 1999
Watkins Glen, New York
Bill Lester was the first African-American NASCAR driver to qualify for a starting field, in the Busch Series at Watkins Glen, New York.