Jesse Clark White is an American educator, politician, and former track and field athlete from the state of Illinois. He is a Democrat and has been the 37th Illinois Secretary of State since 1999. He is the longest serving Secretary of State in Illinois history … Read MoreJesse White (1936- )
Norman A. Black is one of the most prominent coaches in the history of professional sports in the Philippines. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 12, 1957, Black was the son of a public school teacher. He graduated from the Catholic Cardinal Gibbons School in … Read MoreNorman August Black (1957- )
Longtime University of Washington head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar was born November 13, 1958, and grew up in Compton, California, where he went on to play at Cerritos Community College after high school. After playing two years for Cerritos, he transferred and played for the … Read MoreLorenzo Romar (1958- )
Esteemed educator, legendary basketball coach, and successful university president, Harrison Wilson Jr. was born on April 21, 1925, in Amsterdam, a small city in upstate New York. His mother, Marguerite Ayers, was a school teacher, and his father, Harrison Wilson Sr., worked in construction. Dr. … Read MoreHarrison B. Wilson Jr. (1925-2019)
“Image Ownership: Fair Use” Born on July 4, 1902 in Seattle, Washington, Brice Union Taylor was an athlete who broke racial barriers for African American football players. Brice Taylor is perhaps best known as the University of Southern California’s first All-American football player. A descendant of the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and African slaves, he was the … Read MoreBrice Union Taylor (1902-1974)
Born in Washington, D.C. on September 2, 1941, legendary basketball coach-emeritus John Thompson Jr., arose from segregated public-housing and asphalt playground-courts to the polished hardwoods of collegiate and professional basketball, becoming the first African American head coach — in any major college sport– to win … Read MoreJohn Robert Thompson Jr. (1941-2020)
With 408 career victories at Grambling State University, Eddie Robinson is the most successful football coach in Division I history. In 1985 he surpassed Paul William “Bear” Bryant’s record set at Alabama with 324 wins. Under Robinson, the Grambling Tigers posted three undefeated seasons, seven … Read MoreEddie Robinson (1919-2007)
Famous Major League baseball pitcher Robert “Bob” Gibson was Pack and Victoria Gibson’s seventh child born November 9, 1935 in Omaha, Nebraska. Pack died three months before Bob Gibson was born. Young Gibson suffered with asthma, pneumonia, rickets, hay fever, and a rheumatic heart. He … Read MoreRobert “Bob” Gibson (1935-2020)
Born November 16, 1963, in Houston, Texas, tennis star Zina Garrison was the youngest of seven children and was raised by her widowed mother, Mary Garrison. She began playing tennis at the age of 10 through the MacGregar Park Tennis Program. The program was run … Read MoreZina Garrison (1963- )
Ernest “Ernie” Banks was the first African American baseball player for the Chicago (Illinois) Cubs and the first African American manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Banks earned the nickname “Mr. Cub” while playing shortstop and first base from 1953-1971 for the team. Ernest Banks … Read MoreErnest “Ernie” Banks (1931-2015)
