Great African Americans in Sports

During the 20th century, the popularity of professional sports in the United States has risen, largely in part to the expansion of exposure of sports on television and radio. This increasing exposure of sports has allowed Americans to witness great African-American athletes. Many African-Americans have been inducted to the Hall of Fames in their respective sports, including football, baseball and basketball.

  1. Basketball

    • According to the National Basketball Association website, Michael Jordan is considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Jordan spent most of his career at the Chicago Bulls and broke 10 NBA scoring titles. The Bulls won six NBA championships with Jordan on their roster.

      Born in Philadelphia, Wilt Chamberlain was recruited by over 200 universities when he was in high school. He finally chose to play at the University of Kansas. When he retired from the NBA, Chamberlain was the league's all-time leading scorer.

    Olympiads

    • Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of the greatest African-American women to compete in Track and Field. During her career, Joyner-Kersee won three gold, one silver and two bronze Olympic medals in the heptathlon and long jump competitions in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics.

      Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay in 1942, competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics and won the gold medal in the lightweight boxing division. After his amateur years, Ali proceeded to be a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion and a career record of 56-5.

    Baseball

    • Jackie Robinson was an African-American baseball player in the the 1940s and '50s. Robinson was the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1962.

      Barry Bonds played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. His baseball career started in 1986 and he went on to set the all-time home run record at 762 and single-season home run record at 73. He was an eight-time Golden Glove Award winner before retiring in 2007.

    Football

    • Jim Brown is considered to be one of the greatest players in National Football League history. Brown spent nine years with the Cleveland Browns and scored his 100th touchdown after playing 93 games. He played in the NFL Pro Bowl every year in his career.

      Spending most of his career at the San Francisco 49ers, Jerry Rice was picked as an All-Pro wide receiver 11 times during his 20-year career that spanned from 1985 to 2004. Rice was a part of three Super Bowls with the 49ers. His jersey was retired by the 49ers in 2010.

    Tennis

    • Arthur Ashe's tennis career spanned through the 1960s and '70s. The pinnacle of Ashe's career was in 1975, when he won the Wimbledon tournament and attained the world's number one ranking. In 1963, Ashe was the first African-American to represent the United States in the Davis Cup tournament.

      The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, have been a dominant force in women's tennis. Since turning pro as teenagers, the sisters have a combined 80 career titles, which include all Grand Slam titles, such as Wimbledon, the French Open and U.S. Open. Both sisters have been ranked number one in their careers.