faced adversity when she was diagnosed with polio. But that didn't stop her from racking up three gold medals during the 1960 Olympics. Her performance compelled many young female teenagers to take an interest in track and field
Known as the Black Babe Ruth and the "Greatest Living Ballplayer of all time"
The world's most recognizable athlete has a legacy that stretches far beyond sports.
1st African American heavyweight boxing champion
In 1919, he became one of the first African-Americans to play in the NFL
Also called "Flo Jo" was considered the fastest woman in the world in 1988
the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics, and the first black person of any nationality or gender to win an Olympic-gold-medal in gymnastics
joined the PGA Tour in 1961. He went on to play in 422 tournaments, with 51 top 10 finishes, including wins at the 1967 Greater Hartford Open and the 1969 Los Angeles Open.
As the first black woman to compete on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam in 1956, she was a true titan in a sport that was predominantly white, both then and now.
Prior to that season, no major college basketball team had ever had five African American players in the starting lineup. But that unheard of squad pulled off a miracle year that ended with them beating Kentucky, 72-65, in the National Championship Game
the first black head coach in NBA history and professional sports
During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Adolf Hitler attempted to use the Games as a showcase for his Third Reich and the supposed superiority of the Aryan race.This person turned that theory on its head right quick by winning four gold medals in the 100m sprint, the long jump, 200m sprint, and the 4x100m relay
Till this day, Arthur Ashe remains the only African-American male to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, or Australian Open
Baseball's first 30-homer/30-stolen base man also won 12 Gold Gloves patroling center field and slugged the sport's fourth-most homers, all without a lick of steroids.