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Famous Firsts - Read on to learn about African-American athletes who broke racial boundaries in professional sports.—Britt Middleton

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Charles Follis - The National Football League was officially founded in 1920, but its origins date back to 1869, at which point Blacks were barred from playing due to segregation. Charles Follis is celebrated as the first African-American to play professional football, as a member of the Shelby Athletic Club in 1902.(Photo: Public Domain)

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Woody Strode - Along with Kenny Washington, LA Rams picked up Woody Strode in 1946, ending a nearly 12-year ban on Black athletes in the NFL. Both Strode and Washington were formerly teammates with baseball legend Jackie Robinson on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team.(Photo: Public Domain)

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Kenny Washington - After 31 years of limited immigration that granted athletes such as Charles Follis the opportunity to play, the NFL implemented a full ban on Black athletes in 1933. The ban was lifted in 1946, and the LA Rams became the first team to integrate after hiring Kenny Washington, a stand-out star on the football field at the University of California Los Angeles. (Photo: Public Domain)

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Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton  - Joining Chuck Cooper and Earl Lloyd in making history was Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the first to sign an NBA contract with the New York Knicks, where he played for seven seasons. (Photo:  FPG/Getty Images)

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Chuck Cooper - Also in 1950, along with Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper entered the NBA when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics. He would also be the first African-American to be drafted by a professional basketball team. (Photo:  Sporting News/Sporting News via Getty Images)

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Jackie Robinson - There is no other athlete more associated with the term “breaking the color barrier” than Jackie Robinson, who became the first Black player in major league baseball when he signed on to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Earl Lloyd - When Earl Lloyd entered the National Basketball Association in 1950, he and three other players became the first Black players to do so. In addition, Lloyd, a member of the Washington Capitals, became the first African-American to play in an NBA game when his team took on the Rochester Royals that year.(Photo:  NBAE Photos/ NBAE/ Getty Images)

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Willie O’Ree - Willie O’Ree broke the color barrier on the ice when he was hired by the Quebec Aces, a minor-league team affiliated with the Boston Bruins, in 1956. (Photo:  Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

Photo By Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images

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Althea Gibson - Tennis prodigy Althea Gibson conquered African-American tennis tournaments and, in 1950, she was given the opportunity to shatter even more records when she became the first African-American woman to compete at the U.S. Open. In 1951, she made her first appearance at Wimbledon. She was winner of the French Open in 1956, Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, and the U.S. Open in 1957 and 1958.(Photo:  Central Press/Getty Images)

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Charlie Sifford - Golfer Charlie Sifford became the first Black PGA Tour member in 1962, paving the way for other Black golfing greats such Peter Brown, the first African-American to win a PGA tournament, and Tiger Woods, the first person of color to win the Masters.(Photo: PGA TOUR Archive/WireImage)

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Otey Cannon - In 1972, Otey Cannon turned professional when he joined the Dallas Tornado, becoming the first Back player in the North American Soccer League. (Photo: Public Domain)

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Bob Ryland -  Bob Ryland broke the color barrier in men’s tennis in 1959, when he became the first Black man to play the game as a professional. For much of his career, Ryland wasn’t allowed to participate in the whites-only tournaments, though he secured many city championships in Los Angeles and participated in the U.S. National Championships, an international tournament. (Photo: Bob Ryland)