The following is an introduction from A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete Since 1946 (Volume 3) written by Arthur Ashe, Jr. The introduction appears on pages xxi-xxiii and summarizes the struggle for equality of black athletes from 1946 to the present.
"For many including myself, the contemporary era of American sports begins in 1946, and for good reasons: the Second World War was over, many citizens had money in their pockets, and television was coming. In the first five years of tis period, some extraordinary and historic changes and breakthroughs were effected. Baseball reasserted itself as the dominant spectator sport. Professional football merged two competing leagues and became stronger than ever, and professional basketball went through similar adjustments. Joe Louis retired undefeated in 1949 as heavyweight boxing champion. With hurried preparations, the British staged the successful 1948 Olympic Games in London after a hiatus of a dozen years.
"For black athletes, this five-year span was the most memorable sixty months in their sports history. Long sought changes had finally come about because of the combined and persistant efforts of the entire black community. Jackie Robinson reintegrated the major leagues in 1947, a first time for a black, since 1884. Professional football became integrated for the second time since 1933, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) admitted blacks at last. Althea Gibson became the first black player in the National Tennis Championshios at Forest Hills, New York. The American Bowling Congress (ABC) dropped the "Caucasians only" clause in its constitution. The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) settled out of court with Bill Spiller and Ted Rhodes in the two men's fight to play in the PGA. And President Harry S. Truman ordered the integration of the Armed Forces in 1948. Black athletes meant to take full advantage, but tere were still more dues to pay.
"The early civil rights movement had not paid much sustained attention to the past racial troubles of black sportsmen. Outside of black college varsity competition and Negro League basebll, there was no firmly entrenched athletic establishment to protect and defend black athletes. The black community could not completely support its own professional teams, and unil the late 1930s, most assistance came from civil rights groups went to individual athletes rather than to athletic teams seen as representing some clearly defined group. Sports were still regarded as fun and games, not worthy of the limited resources of black lawyers.
"Even black scholars paid scant attention to sports. W.E.B. DuBois had already caled boxing "very, very immoral" and, with the exception of Edwin B. Henderson's book, The Negro in Sports, not a single notable book on black athletes had been penned by a black writer. Sports were seen as ephemeral, short-lived experiences that offered momentary diversion. Sports was not just that important, some believed, when juxtaposed with other more pressing issues such as the vote in the South, lynchings, and the election of more blacks to political office. Yet the accomplishments of athletes and their influence on the black populace was evident. Jack Johnson and Joe Louis were, in their prime, the most famous black persons on earth, and their success stories should have been recorded by trained black historians other than sports reporters.
"The contemporary era has been little different. Nearly all the biographies and individual sports histories of black athletes are still written by whites, partly because publishing houses are not in contact with black writers. Still, the appreciation of the athletes' role in modern black history has been enhanced by their participation in the general struggle for equality. Henry Lee Moon presaged this connection between the athlete and the civil rights movement in his 1948 book, Balance of Power: The Negro Vote. He acknowledged that "The ballot, while no longer conceived of as a magic key, is recognized as the indispensible weapon in a persistent fight for full citizenship, equal economic opportunity...and recreational [italics mine] facilities." In the 1950s white America began learning more about black America and one of the most influential messengers was the black athlete.
"The 1950s was marked by the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education (1954). While the court ruled that seperate-but-equal public school systems for blacks and whites were unconstitutional, the legal action also meant that all Americans would finally have access to the best athletic facilities a local school district could afford. Better facilities meant better training, coaching, competition -- and results. But the slow pace of integration of the three major professional team sports left the indelible impression that the equal rights battle was far from won in the athletic arena.
"In the 1960s, black athletes were vital cogs in the machinery of the black social revolution. They manned picket lines, sat in at segregated lunch counters in the South, petitioned for redress of grievances at white colleges, demanded an end to discriminatory practices of white coaches, and even threatened to boycott the most cherished symbol of equal opportunity -- the Olympic Games. Their power was strengthened by their new visibility generated by television, which, more than any other communications medium, has popularized sports. In addition some black athletes became practically indispensible to the success of their teams.
"Indispensible or not, studies showed black athletes were financially underpaid though their team and artistic value was higher. They were "stacked" into certain positions on teams because of the distorted and unrealistic racial perceptions of white coaches, and were not summarily dealt with if they protested. They were considered all brawn and no brains. Team owners had used black baseball players to keep the salaries of white players low, because it was believed black players attracted more psychic value to careers as professional athletes than did white athletes; therefore better black players would work for less money, thus keeping their market value artificially lower than white players'. This assumption proved true, and the professional teams took full advantage.
"The 1970s brought free-agency, more opportunities to women, a rise in the power of player associations; a diminution in the number of American youngsters engaged in organized sports; the running craze; drug addiction; black professional team coaches, and the virtual abrogation of the hated contractual reserve clause in professional sports teams. Suddenly, dozens of athletes were earning more money in one season than a college graduate made in a lifetime. Black athletes -- most of whom came from our nation's underclass -- found it difficult to adjust. Most had gone from socialogically lower-class amenities to upper-class bank-accounts -- skipping the middle-class altogether.
"By the mid 1980s, black athletes had almost completely rewritten the record books. They were the most dominant and charismatic players in the NBA, the NFL and the major leagues (which comprises the highest level of baseball played in the U.S.). Black tennis players and golfers had already won national and international titles. Track stars owned the sprinting and jumping marks, and the higher weight divisions in boxing listed blacks as champions. There were even two promoters; a situation almost impossible in 1946.
"No gains or successes came without a price, and athletes understoodthat more than nonathletes. Few experts right after World War II could have predicted that some black athletes would be making $2 million per years for playing games, and then losing most of it due to poor management. But ours is a free enterprise economic system where market forces of supply and demand, however imperfect, determine a person's economic value. Unfortunately, for every million-dollar-sallaried black athlete, there were tens of thousands of young blacks who unrealistically thought they could earn it too. Professional sports became a means to and end to black degradtion.
"It was a glorious period -- the years between 1946 and 1992. But the calendars were strewn with bankruptcies, broken homes, drug addictions, school dropouts, incarcerations, and hopeless dreams. The pah to fame and wealth for all but a few black athletes has been 'A Hard Road to Glory.'
--Arthur Ashe, Jr."
(Ashe, "Hard Road" xxi+)
It is impossible to mention all the black athletes, both professional and amateur, who have contributed to sports history. However, the following is a listing of those who have either acheived "firsts" or outstanding success and notoriety.
Baseball legends include Willie Mays who participated in 2992 games; Henry "Hank" Aaron, who can claim 3298 games; Ernie "Mr. Cub" Banks; and Frank Robinson, the only player to be voted Most Valuable Player in both leagues and the first black manager in 1974. More recently Reggie Smith, Eddie Murray, and Bob Bonilla have achieved success. In 1989 Bill White, a six-time All Star player, was named president of the National League.
Professional basketball players include Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and Michael Jordan. Clarence "Big House" Gaines became the first black coach to win an NCAA Division II title. Female players have been limited to amateur status but Vivian Stringer, Cheryl Miller, Pam McGee all were Olympians in basketball.
Boxing has always been a sprt dominated by African-Americans. Muhammad Ali was the first man to win the heavyweight title three times. Other boxers include Joe Frazier, "Sugar" Ray Charles Leonard, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker, Mike Tyson.
Football greats include O.J. Simpson, who was considered the premier runner of the 1970s; Ernie Davis, who in 1961 was the first black awarded the Heisman Trophy; and Wlater Payton.
Participating in and winning several Professional Golfers Association (PGA) everts was Lee Elder whose career earnings were $2 million. Other include Calvin Peete; and LaRee Pearl, a female golfer who continues to play today.
Tennis greats are Athea Gibson, who has won several Wimbledon, French Open, and U.S. Open championships. Others include Kim Sands and Horace Reid.
Track and Field is another area where African-Americans have excelled. Participants include Jackie Joyner-Kersee; Ralph Boston; Wyomia Tyus, who won four gold medals; Bob Hayes; Carl Lewis, who also won four gold medals in the 1984 Olympics; Ben Johnson; and Gwen Torrence.
Gymnastic stars include Mike Carter, who was the first black gymnast with a national reputation; and Diane Durham, the first black American female who was internationally ranked. Ice Skating can claim Debi Thomas as a champion. Thomas won an Olympic medal in the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Although the names listed here only represent a portion of famous black athletes, mant others exist. To name all the black athletes at the college, amateur, and professional level would be impossible. If interested further research can be done, see the bibliography and further reading section for information.