Unsung Heroes

As fans of sports we often associate ourselves with certain pioneers who changed the game. Being that it is Black History Month, in present times we have the basic assumption that Jackie Robinson was the first to integrate sports. While he was the trailblazer, there were many that came before him that laid his pathway.
There was a group of athletes distinguished as the “Forgotten Four.” Marion Motley, Woody Strode, Kenny Washington, and Bill Willis broke the National Football League color barrier in 1946, a year before Jackie Robinson added color to Major League Baseball. Washington and Strode were both teammates of Robinson at the University of California at Los Angeles, Washington and Robinson shared the backfield. Washington was the first black to sign an NFL contract when he signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. Strode, Motley, and Willis were not far behind; Strode joined Washington with the Rams while Motley and Willis signed with the Cleveland Browns that same year.
Fritz Pollard was the first black to play organized football. He joined the American Professional Football Association in 1920. Pollard was the first black quarterback to play football when he signed with the Hammond Pros. Pollard retired in 1926, but then spent two years establishing an all black professional team, the Chicago Black Hawks. Pollard was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 and the National Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Marlin Briscoe was the first black to play quarterback in the American Football League, which resided on the west coast. Briscoe was drafted in the 14th round of the 1968 draft by the Denver Broncos out of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. That year, Briscoe threw for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdowns. He rushed 41 times for 308 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Harry “Bucky” Lew was the first African-American to sign a professional basketball contract, he signed with Lowell, Massachusetts’ Pawtucket Athletic Club from the New England Basketball League in 1902. Chuck Cooper was the inaugural black to ever be drafted in the NBA; the Boston Celtics drafted him in 1950. Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton was the second black to sign an NBA contract when he signed with the New York Knickerbockers that same year. Early Lloyd was the first African-American to play in a regular season game when his Washington Capitols started their season one day before the league’s other teams. Harold Hunter was the first black to sign an NBA contract when he signed with the Washington Capitols in 1950. Bill Russell was the first black NBA head coach when he coached the Boston Celtics starting in 1966; he was also the first black coach to win an NBA championship. Al Attles later followed in his footsteps in 1975, becoming the second black to win an NBA title, Attles led the Golden State Warriors to the zenith that year.
Willie O’Ree was the first black to play in the National Hockey League. He was playing in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Indians prior to his debut in the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1958. O’Ree was a coveted player in the Canadian Hockey Leagues, he led the Ontario Hockey Association in scoring in the 1955-56 season; scoring a league high 30 goals. O’Ree rejoined the Bruins in the 1960-61 season, where he was featured in 43 games; scoring his first NHL goal against the Montreal Canadians. These are the real pioneers. The ones who have been lost in time, the pioneers we have to learn about via some Showtime documentary that is broadcasted at 2 in the morning while our eyes are shut. However, these are the pioneers who made blacks feel appreciated. For once people needed us, they needed us for the world of sports; a world, which we have changed and now dominate.