Redefining the limits - contributions and sports records of Afro American athletes

Ebony, August, 1991 by Walter Leavy

If you take a look at any of the major spectators sports - baseball, basketball, boxing, football, track and field - you will find that for decades Black athletes have turned in performances that redefined the limits and changed the general perception of what is possible in the athletic arena.

From the trailblazing efforts of Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson to Jackie Joyner-Kersee's world-record-breaking heptathlon performance in the 1988 Olympics to the crowning of Rickey Henderson as baseball's greatest base stealer, Black athletes have repeatedly gone beyond what was considered the realm of possibility in the sports world. And in addition to raising the level of competition, they have brought a daring, colorful, creative and out-of-the-ordinary style that has drastically changed the way the games are played.

"When Whites controlled many of the sports, it [their performance] was like method acting," says noted author and former tennis champion Arthur Ashe. "There was not enough spontaneity, not enough creativity, not enough innovation, not enough willingness to try different things to see if they would work. Blacks have certainly brought those elements to the arenas, diamonds and courts."

The ability of Blacks to deviate from the orthodox and improvise has prompted some White players to imitate their style of play. But experts say the most dramatic element that has brought about change in sports is the speed of Blacks. Anyone who has knowledge about sports - even the most casual fan - agrees with what is probably the most repeated phrase in sports: "There is no substitute for speed."

In track the effect is obvious when you consider that Blacks have dominated the sprinting events since the 1928 Olympics. On the other hand, in team sports, Blacks have been no less effective. A host of fleet-of-foot Black players - that includes Maury Wills, Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson - brought a new dimension to baseball ethat forced managers to change their strategies to either take advantage of or defense against the faster athletes. In football, not only has the speed of the running backs and wide receivers radically changed defensive schemes, but the speed of Black players has created new prottypes. For instance, a line-backer like Lawrence Taylor has racked up more quarterback sacks than anyone in the history of the game.

In the eyes of many fans, though, basketball provides the clearest example of just how dramatically Black creativity and speed can revolutionize a game, so much so that James Naismith would hardly recognize the game he invented in 1891. Before the influence of Black players, basketball was a slowpaced, strictly patterned game that seldom took advantage of what was once called "the racehorse maneuver" (now commonly known as the fast break). But with the addition of Blacks, the pace of the game accelerated greatly, a free-wheeling style developed and, today, the in-your-face, playground style of play has inspired a whole new vocabulary that includes such terms as hang time, sky-hook, wraparound dribble and no-look pass.

Although the changes that occur in the professional ranks appear to take center stage, the Black influence at the college level has been just as dramatic, particularly in terms of changing attitudes at predominatly White institutions that once prevented the enrollment of Blacks.

When you think about how much Black creativity has changed sports, it's difficult to envision this arena without the presence of these innovators. Imagine, if you can, what sports would be like if Blacks hadn't been able to showcase their talents during the past 20 years or so. There would be no Michael Jordan, no Magic Johnson, no Walter Payton, no Florence Griffith Joyner, no Edwin Moses, no Carl Lewis, no Evelyn Ashford, no Reggie Jackson, no Sugar Ray Leonard and no Mike Tyson. There would'nt even have been the amazing legacy of Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth's "unbreakable" record when he smashed his 715th home run on April 8, 1974. Aaron ended his career with 755 roundtrippers, and that accomplishment may not be surpassed because, at the beginning of this season, 35-year-old Eddie Murray and 39-year-old Dwight Evans shared the honor of being the active players with the most career home runs (379).

Although a number of Black stars have made indelible marks in their respective fields, one of the most incredible examples of redefining the limits is rolled up in a 6-foot-1, 225-pound exceptional athlete named Bo Jackson. He blew the ceiling off the idea of limits when he decided to do double duty as an outfielder for the Kansas City Royals (now with the Chicago White Sox) baseball team and as a running back for the Los Angeles Raiders football team.

Despite the fact that naysayers labeled the idea "ludicrous and unthinkable," Bo turned a deaf ear, became an All-Star in both sports and has inspired a whole generation of younger athletes who no longer believe that it's impossible to play two professional sports.

Athletic ability aside, Black players have also brought an open-minded, entertaining element to sports that author and sports journalist A.S. (Doc) Young calls "the showtime factor," a mixture of flair, showmanship and even a degree of flamboyance. For example, the "Ickey Shuffle" and other end-zone celebrations have emerged in pro football; colorful, sexy running attire - a la Florence Griffith Joyner -has has brightened the track world and Carl Lewis' high-top fade haircut began a trend among many who didn't even have an interest in sports.