45 years in sports; color barriers fall for Black athletes, but big hurdles to the front office and "club" sports remain - Looking Back - 45th Anniversary Edition

Ebony, Nov, 1990 by Arthur Ashe

PHOTO : American sports. The winning ways of Arthur Ashe (left), Joe Louis (above) and Jackie

PHOTO : Robinson (below) made them legends in their respective sports -- tennis, boxing and

PHOTO : baseball.

PHOTO : Blacks dominated mainline sports and made history in others. Boxers Muhammad Ali (top l.)

PHOTO : and Sugar Ray Robinson (left) awed fans as champions, and Hank Aaron (top, right) became

PHOTO : baseball's home-run king. At right, basketball's premier centers Wilt Chamberlain (r.) and

PHOTO : Bill Russell battled under the boards, while Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis

PHOTO : player to win the Wimbledon title.

PHOTO : Gaining fame and yardage came relatively easy for football greats Jim Brown (top left) and

PHOTO : Walter Payton (above), two of the NFL's best athletes and all-time rushing greats.

PHOTO : Basketball superstar Julius (Dr. J) Erving (top) and golfer Charles Sifford brought grace

PHOTO : and style to their respective sports.

PHOTO : Alice Coachman (c.), the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, set high

PHOTO : standards for today's track stars, Carl Lewis (lower left) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (lower

PHOTO : right).

PHOTO : Frank Robinson broke a color barrier when he became baseball's first Black manager. Below,

PHOTO : Florence Griffith Joyner wins her fourth medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics.

PHOTO : Pro football became the last major sport to hire a Black head coach when Art Shell (below)

PHOTO : of the L.A. Raiders got the job in 1989.