List of sports desegregation firsts
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This is a list of sports desegregation firsts. Within each section, the entries are in chronological order by achievement.
Major League Baseball[]
- William Edward White (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.
- Moses Fleetwood Walker (1856–1924), first openly African-American player.
- Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era
- Larry Doby (1923–2003), second African American to break the color barrier, first in the American League
- Steve Bellán (1849–1932), first Latin American, depending on whether or not the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players is considered a major league
- Lou Castro (1876–1941), the first Latin American, if not Bellán
- Louis Sockalexis (1871–1913), a member of the Penobscot tribe, often considered the first player of Native American ancestry
- Jim Toy (1858–1919), another possible, disputed candidate for first Native American player
- Moses J. Yellow Horse (1898–1964), first full-blooded Native American player, from the Pawnee tribe
- Masanori Murakami (born 1944), first Japanese player
National Football League[]
- Fritz Pollard (1894–1986), one of the first two African-American players and the first head coach
- Bobby Marshall (1880–1958), one of the first two African-American players
- Lou Molinet (1904–1976), first Hispanic, Cuban and Latin American player
- Sneeze Achiu (1902–1989), first player of east Asian descent
National Basketball Association[]
- Wat Misaka (1923–2019), first non-white player and first of Asian descent
- Nathaniel Clifton (1922–1990), Chuck Cooper (1926–1984) and Earl Lloyd (1928–2015), the first African Americans in the NBA, with Lloyd being the first to play in a game
National Hockey League[]
- Larry Kwong (1923–2018), first player to break the color barrier in hockey and first of Asian descent
- Willie O'Ree (born 1935), first black player
- Fred Sasakamoose (1933-2020), first Canadian First Nations player with treaty status
- Bill Guerin (born 1970), first player of Hispanic descent
Boxing[]
- Jack Johnson (1878–1946), first black world heavyweight champion
Tennis[]
- Althea Gibson (1927–2003), first African American to play in the United States National Championships, now the US Open
- Bob Ryland (1920-2020), first African-American professional player and first to compete in the NCAA National Championships
- Arthur Ashe (1943–1993), first African American selected to the United States Davis Cup team
Golf[]
- Sewsunker Sewgolum (1928–1978), first person of color to win a provincial open in South Africa, the 1963 Natal Open
- Althea Gibson (1927–2003), first African American to join the LPGA tour, in 1964
Association football[]
- Andrew Watson (1856–1921), considered the first black person to play association football at the international level
- Arthur Wharton (1865–1930), widely considered to be the first black professional footballer in the world
Rugby union[]
- James Robertson (c. 1854–1900), Scottish rugby union player reputed to be the first black rugby union player in the world
Categories:
- Sport-related lists
- Racial segregation