This is a list of sports

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

firsts. Within each section, the entries are in chronological order by achievement.

Major League Baseball

* 1871: Steve Bellán (1849–1932), first Latin American, depending on whether or not the

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully- professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 se ...

is considered a major league * 1879:

William Edward White William Edward White (October 1860 – March 29, 1937) was a 19th-century American baseball player. He played as a substitute in one professional baseball game for the Providence Grays of the National League, on June 21, 1879. Work by the Society ...

(1860–1937), believed to be the first African American to play in the major leagues, appearing in one game on June 21, 1879. White passed as white. * 1884:

Moses Fleetwood Walker Moses Fleetwood Walker (October 7, 1856 – May 11, 1924) was an American professional baseball catcher who, historically, was credited with being the first black man to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Mount Pleasant, Ohio, an ...

(1856–1924), first openly African-American player * 1887:

Jim Toy James Willis Toy (April 29, 1930 – January 1, 2022) was a long-time American activist and a pioneer for LGBT rights in Michigan. Toy earned his B.A. at Denison University in 1951. He graduated with a master's degree in Clinical Social Work ...

(1858–1919), another possible, disputed candidate for first Native American player * 1897:

Louis Sockalexis Louis Francis Sockalexis (October 24, 1871 – December 24, 1913), nicknamed the Deerfoot of the Diamond, was an American baseball player. Sockalexis played professional baseball in the National League for three seasons, spending his entire c ...

(1871–1913), a member of the

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

tribe, often considered the first player of Native American ancestry * 1902:

Lou Castro Luis Miguel Castro (November 25, 1876 – September 24, 1941) was born in Medellín, Colombia. According to Major League Baseball, he was the first Latin American to enter the league as an infielder who played 42 games with the Philadelphia At ...

(1876–1941), the first Latin American, if not Bellán * 1921: Moses J. Yellow Horse (1898–1964), first full-blooded Native American player, from the Pawnee tribe * 1947:

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

(1919–1972), first African American to play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

in the modern era * 1947:

Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black pl ...

(1923–2003), second African American to break the

color barrier Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...

, first in the American League * 1964:

Masanori Murakami Masanori "Mashi" Murakami (村上雅則, ''Murakami Masanori'', born May 6, 1944) is a retired Japanese baseball player. He is notable for being the first Japanese player to play for a Major League Baseball team. Sent over to the United States ...

(born 1944), first Japanese player

National Football League

Note:

NFL.com The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

, the official site of the league, recognizes players of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which was renamed the National Football League (NFL) in 1921, as members of the NFL.

Players

* 1920:

Fritz Pollard Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the ...

(1894–1986), one of the first two African-American players; also the first (co-)head coach * 1920:

Bobby Marshall Robert Wells Marshall (March 12, 1880 – August 27, 1958) was an American sportsman. He was best known for playing football; however, Marshall also competed in baseball,

(1880–1958), one of the first two African-American players * 1927:

Lou Molinet Ignacio Saturnino "Lou" Molinet (November 30, 1904 – August 27, 1976) was a Cuban-born professional American football player who played in the National Football League for the Frankford Yellow Jackets during the 1927 season. He is distinguishe ...

(1904–1976), first Hispanic, Cuban and Latin American player * 1927: Sneeze Achiu (1902–1989), first player of east Asian descent

Other

* 1921: Fritz Pollard: first (co-)head coach, of the Akron Pros of the APFA * 1965:

Burl Toler Burl Abron Toler Sr. (May 9, 1928 – August 16, 2009) was an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons from 1965 NFL season, 1965 to 1989 NFL season, 1989. He served as a field judge and head linesman through ...

(1928–2009), first African-American official * 1988:

Johnny Grier Johnny Grier (April 16, 1947 – March 8, 2022) was an American football official for 23 years in the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 2004. He began in the NFL as a field judge before becoming the first African-American referee in th ...

(1947–2022), first African-American referee

National Basketball Association

* 1947:

Wat Misaka Wataru Misaka (December 21, 1923 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A point guard of Japanese descent, he broke a color barrier in professional basketball by being the first non-white player and the first ...

(1923–2019), first non-white player and first of Asian descent * 1950: Nathaniel Clifton (1922–1990), Chuck Cooper (1926–1984) and

Earl Lloyd Earl Francis Lloyd (April 3, 1928 – February 26, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was the first African American player to play a game in the National Basketball Association (NBA). An All–American player at W ...

(1928–2015), the first African Americans in the NBA, with Lloyd being the first to play in a game

National Hockey League

* 1926:

Taffy Abel Clarence John "Taffy" Abel (May 28, 1900 – August 1, 1964) was an American professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks between 1926 and 1934. Born in 1900 in Sault ...

(1900–1964), first non-white and first Indigenous American (

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

) player in the NHL * 1948:

Larry Kwong Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong; ; June 17, 1923 – March 15, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward who was the first non-White and Asian descent player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He broke the NHL ...

(1923–2018), first player of Asian descent * 1953:

Fred Sasakamoose Frederick Sasakamoose, (December 25, 1933November 24, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was one of the first Canadian Indigenous players in the National Hockey League, and the first First Nations player with treaty status ...

(1933-2020), first Canadian First Nations player with treaty status * 1958:

Willie O'Ree Willie Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree is referred t ...

(born 1935), first black player * 1991:

Bill Guerin William Robert Guerin (born November 9, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Minnesota Wild. He previously was the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general mana ...

(born 1970), first player of Hispanic descent

Boxing

* 1902:

Joe Gans Joe Gans (born Joseph Gant; November 25, 1874 – August 10, 1910) was an American professional boxer. Gans was rated the greatest lightweight boxer of all-time by boxing historian and ''Ring Magazine'' founder, Nat Fleischer. Known as the "Old M ...

(1874–1910), first African-American world champion * 1907: Jack Johnson (1878–1946), first African-American world heavyweight champion

Tennis

* 1945, 1958:

Bob Ryland Bob Ryland (June 16, 1920 – August 2, 2020) was an American tennis player and coach, known for having been the first African-American to play professional tennis. Ryland coached some of the world’s top-ranked professionals, including; Harold ...

(1920-2020), first African-American to compete in the NCAA National Championships and first professional player * 1950:

Althea Gibson Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African America ...

(1927–2003), first African American to play in the United States National Championships (now the US Open) and first to win a Grand Slam title * 1963:

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Unite ...

(1943–1993), first African American selected to the

United States Davis Cup team The United States men's national tennis team represents the United States in Davis Cup tennis competition, and is governed by the United States Tennis Association. The U.S. competed in the first Davis Cup in 1900, when a group of Harvard Univer ...

Golf

* 1963:

Sewsunker Sewgolum Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum ( OIS) (12 December 1928 – 5 July 1978) was a South African professional golfer of ethnic Indian origin, who carved a niche for himself in golfing folklore when he became the first golfer of colour to win a provinci ...

(1928–1978), first person of color to win a provincial open in South Africa, the

Natal Open The Natal Open was a golf tournament in South Africa. It was part of the South African Tour. Winners * 1925 Jock Brews * 1926 Sid Brews * 1927 Sid Brews * 1928 ''No tournament'' * 1929 Sid Brews * 1930–1934 ''No tournament'' * 1935 Bobby L ...

* 1964:

(1927–2003), first African American to join the

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

tour

Association football

* 1881: Andrew Watson (1856–1921), considered the first black person to play

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

at the international level * 1889:

Arthur Wharton Arthur Wharton (28 October 1865 – 12 December 1930) is widely considered to be the first black professional footballer in the world. Though not the first black player outright – the amateurs Robert Walker, of Queen's Park, and Scotland inte ...

(1865–1930), widely considered to be the first black professional footballer in the world

Rugby union

* 1871: James Robertson (c. 1854–1900), Scottish rugby union player reputed to be the first black rugby union player in the world

References

{{reflist

Desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...