Sports

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Charles Sifford Links Black History to a Tee

Golf Digest has profiled an amazing trailblazer, Charles Sifford, the first African American man to play on the Professional Golfers Association Tour (PGA).

Forty years ago, for his own security, police escorted Sifford when he walked the fairways at professional tournaments.

When he played in the 1961 Greater Greensboro Open, he was introduced on the tee as “Charlie Sifford ... the first black man to ever play golf in the South in a white tournament.” The nickname “Charlie” stuck, however Sifford counters, “My name is Charles Sifford."

Despite dealing with death threats, discrimination, and verbal abuse from fans and peers, he won two PGA Tour events as well as the 1975 Senior PGA Championship.

In 2005 at age 82, Sifford was honored as the first African American man inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Among black history people, and golfers of every ethnicity, Charles Sifford made a name for himself through his talent and determination.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 08/17 at 07:00 PM
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Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Jesse Owens Historic Sprint for Gold

Seventy years ago on August 9, 1936, Jesse Owens made history in Berlin, Germany.

A member of the U.S. Olympic team, Owens became the first American to win four gold medals.

The outstanding track and field star excelled in the:

  • 100 meter dash
  • 200 meter sprint
  • 400 meter race
  • Broad jump
  • Relay team

From Oakville, Arkansas, Owens grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.  He was a stand-out on Ohio State’s track team.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 08/08 at 08:29 PM
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Thursday, July 13, 2006

Baseball's King of the Long Ball

With Tuesday’s 2006 baseball All-Star Game behind us, and rampant speculation swirling about Barry Bonds‘ quest to catch Henry Aaron, we take a quick look at the career of the all time home run king, Hammerin’ Hank.

He passed Babe Ruth’s record on April 8th, 1974 when he hit home run number 715 as an Atlanta Brave.

Aaron became a professional player in 1952 for the Indianapolis Clowns, a black barnstorming team, and famous sports name in African American history.

The National League Milwaukee Braves purchased his contract for $2,500 later that year and assigned him to their Eau Claire, Wisconsin farm team.

Hank Aaron was promoted to Jacksonville in the Sally League in 1953 finally breaking in at the major league level in 1954, never to look back.  On August 1, 1982, the greatest home run hitter of all time with 755 “round trippers” was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

With baseball behind him, Hank has been a success in the business world too as an entrepreneur, and as a corporate Vice President of Community Relations for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 07/13 at 12:02 PM
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Thursday, May 11, 2006

Floyd Patterson's Knock Out Punch

If you can’t name the current heavyweight boxing champion, you are not alone.

The golden era of Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, George Forman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Frazier, and Mike Tyson has long faded away.  These greats were the center of their universe, the newsmakers of their time, the kings of the squared circle.

Old school boxing legends were worshiped in the popular culture: stars of the tabloids, heroes on the front pages, sports gods on the back pages.

Though the glory days of boxing are gone, there are many other champions who gave the fight game lots of personality.  Floyd Patterson is one of them.

Born in the Big Apple, young Floyd battled his way from the tough mean streets of Brooklyn, New York, to his ultimate destiny - the boxing hall of fame…

  • 1952: Olympic middleweight champion
  • 1956: heavyweight champion at age 21 – defeats Archie Moore
  • 1959: loses the heavyweight title to Ingemar Johansson
  • 1960: reclaims the heavyweight title – beats Johannsson

Alzheimer’s disease and prostate cancer ended Floyd Patterson’s life at the age of 71 in May, 2006.  He’ll always be remembered for his courage as a great champion, who survived a career that spanned great fame, and humbling misfortune.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 05/11 at 08:44 PM
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Friday, May 05, 2006

Isaac Murphy - Kentucky Derby Legend

Saturday, May 6, is the first leg of horse racing’s triple crown - The Kentucky Derby.

The Derby, The Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes are the three biggest races of the year.

A true pioneer, Isaac Murphy was the first jockey to win three Kentucky Derbies (1884, 1890, 1891).  An African American with an outstanding horse racing record of 628 wins in 1412 races.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 05/05 at 10:05 AM
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Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Number 42 is gone but the Legacy of Jackie Robinson Lives

Jackie Robinson was the first black 20th Century major league baseball player.  He signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league Montreal Royals in 1945, before joining the big club in 1947.  Here are some of Jackie’s career highlights:


  • First Major League Rookie of the Year, 1947.
  • National League’s Most Valuable Player, 1949.
  • National League batting champion with a .342 average in 1949.
  • Stolen base leader in 1947 and 1949.
  • Six-time National League All-Star, 1949 - 1954.

Jackie Robinson’s playing career ended in 1956.  He was voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1962, and was out of the game by 1964.

When baseball celebrated the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s breakthrough in 1997, his number was retired by every major league team.  Since 2004, every April 15th is celebrated in baseball as Jackie Robinson Day to acknowledge his social legacy to America and the world.

The Jackie Robinson Foundation provides four-year college scholarships to minority students who have a demonstrated record of academic distinction, leadership capacity, and financial need.

The foundation is currently supporting 266 Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars attending 93 colleges and universities in 33 different American states and the District of Columbia.

March 31, 2006, is this year’s application deadline for students to take advantage of the Jackie Robinson Foundation scholarship.



Posted by Hugh Smith on 03/22 at 06:48 PM
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