It was something the be African American athlete 20 or 40 years ago, but to be an African American athlete and change the world. Now, that was something was truly aspiring. Today it would be hard to imagine the world without these types of athletes, but during their time some of these individuals were almost forced out of their sport. While this is not something that today’s athletes have to deal with, it certainly was the case nearly 30 years ago or more. Heck, there was a time when black athletes weren’t even allowed on the same field with the white athletes. All that aside, there were still those athletes who strove and pushed and completely changed everything. Below, you are going to learn about these individuals and why there were so influential.
Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson really doesn’t get the recognition that he deserved. When most people think about black boxers today, they think about Ali or Foreman, maybe even Tyson. Well, it was old Jack Johnson that paved the way for guys like this. Jack faced a lot of adversity in and out of the ring. Just after winning the heavyweight title, he was slated to face James Jeffries, an undefeated white boxer. James took personal jabs at the boxer outside of the ring by saying that he was going to prove to the world that white men were superior to Negros.
Well, this certainly isn’t the way the fight went down. In the grueling 15th round, Johnson knocked Jeffries out cold and handed him the first loss of his career. This triggered riots all across the United States. In addition to this, Johnson was one of the first athletes, not first black athlete, but one of the first athletes to endorse several products. He also dated a white woman. Could you imagine this during his time? Johnson surely changed the world.
Frederick Pollard
Could you imagine the NFL today without black athletes? No, but back in 1919, it was Frederick that was the first to grace the gridiron. Just after his debut year, he led his Akron Pros to their first-ever NFL championship. The year after that, he became a player-coach with the same team. He later became the first black head coach of an NFL team. If this isn’t making a difference in the world then it is hard to say what is.
Joe Louis
Anyone that bets at sites like แทง บอล know that you can’t lie about numbers. And, Joe Louis’s number simply didn’t lie. He was a heavyweight that held the title for 140 consecutive months. This was and still is the longest streak in the heavyweight division. There were many people that regarded him as the nation’s first black national hero and it was not without good reason. During the 30s, at the height of the pre-World War II, he took two international bouts with German, Max Schmeling. It was a true shocker and travesty when Louis lost their first bout in 1936. His loss had such an impact on the world that writer Langston Hughes described seeing people in the streets of New York crying. Louis finally got his revenge in their rematch.
Jesse Ownes
Hitler has always claimed that his race is superior. During the 1936 Olympics, he wanted to use the games to prove this, but there was one man that had something to say about that. And, this man was Jesse Owens. He turned this Aryan theory upside quickly by winning four different gold medals. He won them in the 100m sprint, the long jump, the 200m sprint, and the 4×100 relay. What an athlete.
Charlie Sifford
You might be surprised to learn that some black golfers today are still dealing with racism. So, you can only imagine what old Charlie had to deal with during his time. During the early days of his career, he could only compete in tournaments that were organized by his fellow black golfers, but that simply wasn’t enough for him. He sought to change this, and that he did. In 1952 he attempted to qualify for the Phoenix Open by using an invitation that he had received from Joe Louis. Sifford received death threats for the stunt but continued to play until he later joined the PGA tour in 1961.
