Black History Month: The black trailblazers in professional sport

It's Black History Month, and it's important to remember the iconic black athletes who battled through adversity so future generations could play on the same playing field as everyone else.

This is a look at the first and/or noteworthy moments accomplished by black athletes across different sports.

MLB legend Jackie Robinson was the first black MLB player in the modern era, starting at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15^th, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson was heralded as the end of racial segregation in baseball, as reported by Britannica.

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Despite suffering from disgusting racial abuse from the crowds and some of the players, Robinson was a six-time All-Star, World Series champion, and the NL MVP. He has his number 42 jersey retired by all MLB teams.

Tennis GOAT Serena Williams has dominated women's over the last 25 years, but in 1999, aged 17, Williams became the first black woman to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era, according to WTA Tennis.

Williams won the 1999 US Open, defeating Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6 to land her first of 23 Grand Slam titles. In the Open era, she is the most successful women's tennis player.

Like Serena Williams, golfing legend Tiger Woods transformed his sport over the last 25 years and became the first black golf major champion after winning the US Masters in 1997, aged 21, according to the Tiger Woods website.

According to Golf Monthly, Woods dominated in his first major win, winning by 12 strokes after recording a score of -18. Over the next 22 years, Woods would win another 14 major titles.

Boston Celtics and NBA legend Bill Russell is one of the pioneers of equality in sports in America. In 1966, he became the first black head coach in professional US sports history for his beloved Boston Celtics.

As reported by the Andscape website, Russell won the final two of his 11 NBA rings as a player-coach after succeeding Red Auerbach. He is still the most successful player in NBA history.

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In a sport dominated by the rich, Lewis Hamilton came from humble beginnings in Stevenage to become the first black Formula One racing driver in history.

According to the F1 website, Hamilton made his Formula One debut in 2007 for McLaren Racing. Since then, he has become the greatest F1 driver in history, winning seven World Championships and 103 races.

According to Yardbarker, the integration of professional basketball was accomplished by three individuals, with Earl Lloyd, Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton, and Chuck Cooper the first black players to join after the 1950 NBA Draft.

The first of those three to officially play in an NBA game was Earl Lloyd because of the NBA schedule at the time. He scored six points on Halloween night for the Washington Capitals, beating Cooper by a day and Clifton by four.

According to Bleacher Report, Kenny Washington was the first African American to sign a contract with an NFL team in the modern era, playing for the Los Angeles Rams from 1946-48.

As reported by the NFL website, Washington had 859 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in his short professional career. After five years at UCLA, he became the first player in the school's history to have his shirt put in the rafters.

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