| Sports
Highlights 1947 Robinson Breaks Baseball Color Barrier First Modern-Era Black Player in the National Football League (Kenny Washington) 1948 First Black World Series Pitcher (Satchel Paige) 1949 First Dark Latino Big-Leaguer (Orestes Minoso) 1950 First Black National Basketball Association Player (Chuck Cooper) 1951 First All-Black Outfield (Giants: Monte Irvin, Willie Mays, Hank Thompson) 1953 First Black Quarterback (Willie Thrower) First Black National Basketball Association All-Star (Don Barksdale) 1956 50 Black Big-Leaguers for the first time 1958 First Black National Hockey League Player (Willie OíRee) 1959 All Major-League Teams Integrated 1962 First Black Big-League Coach (Buck OíNeil) 1963 Black Player Highest Paid Big-Leaguer (Willie Mays) 1964 Cassius Clay Joins Muslims, Becomes Muhammad Ali 1965 First Black National Football League Coach (Emlen Tunnell) 1966 First Black Big-League Umpire (Emmett Ashford) First Black National Basketball Association Head Coach (Bill Russell) 1968 Black U.S. Athletes Give Black-Power Salute in Mexico Olympics 1970 Curt Flood Sues to Challenge Reserve Clause 1971 First All-Black Big League Lineup 1973 First Black National Basketball Association Vice-President (Simon Peter Gourdine) 1974 First Black Big-League Manager (Frank Robinson) CIVIL RIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS 1954 Brown v. Board of Education 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott ICC Bans Segregation on Interstate Travel 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Council Founded Little Rock Integration Crisis Civil Rights Act ñ Commission on Civil Rights Ghana Independent 1960 Sit-Ins Begin Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee Founded Civil Rights Act re: Voting 9 African Countries Become Independent 1961 Freedom Rides 1962 President John F. Kennedy Federalizes Mississippiís National Guard to Integrate University of Mississippi 1963 Medgar Evans, President John F. Kennedy killed Birmingham Voter Drive/Bombings March on Washington 1964 Mississippi Voter Drive, Goodman/Chaney/Schwerner Killed Civil Rights Act re: Jobs/Public Accommodations 1964 Selma Marches Voting Rights Act Watts Riots 19 African Countries Now Independent 1967 Northern Race Riots 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy killed Widespread Ghetto Riots Civil Rights Act re: Housing JACKIE ROBINSON ñ HIGHLIGHTS 1955 Speaking Tour, National Conference of Christians and Jews 1956 NAACP Springarn Medal 1957 Chair NAACP Freedom Fund Drive 1958 Jackson, Mississippi, NAACP Speech, NAACP Board of Directors 1959 New York Post Column (3 Times Per Week) 1960 Raises $$ for North Carolina Sit-Ins, Begins Jazz Fundraising Concerts for Civil Rights at Stamford Home Criticizes Harry Truman for Opposing Sit-Ins, Praised Martin Luther King, Jr., and Civil Disobedience Supports Hubert Humphrey v. Kennedy in Democratic Party Primary, Richard Nixon v. Kennedy in Presidential Election Loses Post Column, Unpaid Leave from Chock Full OíNuts 1961 Picked By Dr. King To Raise $$ to Rebuild Burned Black Churches 1962 Raises $$ for SCLC Voter Registration Drive 1963 Criticizes Adam Clayton Powell for Supporting Muslims and Malcolm and Criticizing NAACP Heads Fundraising/Support Group for Dr. King in Birmingham, Visits Birmingham Churches with Floyd Patterson Praises JFK Speech on Urgency of Equal Rights 1964 Released by Chock Full OíNuts, Attacked by Malcolm Raises $$ for CORE Activities in Meridian, Mississippi Supports Rockefeller v. Goldwater in Republican Primary, Johnson v. Goldwater for President Chair, Harlem Freedom Bank 1966 Special Assistant to Governor Rockefeller 1967 Criticizes Dr. King for Opposing Vietnam War 1968 Supports Rockefeller v. Nixon in Republican Primary, Humphrey v. Nixon for President Supports Black Panthers v. Police Brutality 1971 Criticizes Rockefeller over Attica Jackie Robinson Construction Company 1972 Criticizes Baseball for Having No Black Manager |