Kennington News

2007-06-13

BLACK SPORTING PIONEERS

Lewis Hamilton, already the first black driver in Formula One, became the first black winner of a Grand Prix with his victory in Montreal at the weekend.

Here, PA Sport looks at some of the other black sporting pioneers.

Andrew Watson - The first black footballer in Britain. Born in British Guyana to a Scottish father in 1857. Watson made his debut for Queen's Park - then the dominant force in Scottish football - in 1874. Captained Scotland in the 6-1 win over England at the Kennington Oval in 1881. Also played for Corinthians.

Jack Johnson - The son of former slaves, Jack Johnson - known as the 'Galveston Giant' - became the first black heavyweight champion of the world in 1908. Unable to compete for the title in America, Johnson fought and beat Canadian world champion Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia and defended his title against James J Jefferies who had said he intended to prove "a white man is better than a Negro".

Jimmy Peters - England's first black rugby union international. Capped by Devon in 1903, the stand-off was already an England international in 1906 when a touring South Africa team refused to take the field when he appeared for his county side. Later in the tour and with the Springboks due to play England, Peters was passed over for selection.

Jackie Robinson - Became the first African American to play Major League Baseball in 1947. For 80 years, the sport had been segregated into the mainstream and so-called 'Negro Leagues'. As well as being a phenomenal talent - he was part of the Brooklyn Dodgers team which won the 1955 World Series - Robinson also had the strength of character needed to withstand terrible abuse from players as well as fans.

Basil D'Oliveira - In a reprise of the Jimmy Peters controversey, D'Oliveira precipitated the sporting boycott of South Africa. Born in Cape Town, he had been classed as 'coloured' under the apartheid regime and therefore unable to play for his country. When he was selected for the England squad to tour South Africain 1968, the hosts cancelled.

Clive Sullivan - Rugby league's first black captain. Born in Cardiff, Sullivan scored 250 tries for Hull in 352 games and 118 tries in 213 games for Hull KR. The winger was capped 17 times by Great Britain and captained his country to World Cup victory in 1972.

Althea Gibson - The first black winner of a Grand Slam event. Like Robinson she had been prevented from playing against white opponents and, like Robinson, her talent made a mockery of the 'colour line'. Eventually admitted to the mainstream, she went on to win five Grand Slam titles.

Viv Anderson - The first black footballer to play for England. Lawrie Cunningham had been capped for England's Under-21 side but Anderson beat him to a place in the senior side. The rangy full-back earned the first of 30 caps against Czechoslovakia in 1978. Won two European Cups with Nottingham Forest.

Chester Williams - The first non-white player to be selected to play rugby union for South Africa in the post-apartheid era. Part of the Springbok side which won the 1995 World Cup. Later alleged he had been shunned by his team-mates and racially abused.

Cathy Freeman - The first Aboriginal athlete to win a gold medal. She had already become a symbol of the Sydney Olympics after she was chosen to light the Olympic flame, four years after Muhammed Ali had lit Atlanta's. As such she was under enormous pressure to win the 400 metres final but she succeeded and took the Aboriginal and Australian flags on her lap of honour.

Tiger Woods - Became the first player of colour to win a Major with his victory in the 1997 Masters. He has resisted attempts to make him a civil rights figurehead but he remains a role model in a sport in which attitudes in some quarters remain antiquated. For example, Fuzzy Zoeller, commenting on Woods' Masters dinner, hoped he would "not serve fried chicken, or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve".

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