Famous Black Athletes a to z

Considered one of the best baseball players of all time, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record when he hit his 715th home run in 1974, before setting a new Major League Record with 755 home runs in the same year.

Hall of Fame basketball center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He won six NBA titles, five with the Los Angeles Lakers, over 20 years.

Shaun Alexander is a former running back for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins who’s one of the leading touchdown scorers in NFL history.

Muhammad Ali is considered one of the greatest athletes in boxing history, winning both the coveted Golden Gloves title and an Olympic gold medal, among several other honors.

Forward Carmelo Anthony is one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA. Drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, he was traded to the New York Knicks in 2011.

Henry Armstrong was a U.S. pro boxer who held three championship titles simultaneously. He later became a minister and champion for at-risk youth.

Arthur Ashe is the first African American to win the men's singles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and the first black American to be ranked No. 1 in the world.

Retired NBA player Charles Barkley was part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic "Dream Team" and was named one of the league's 50 greatest players in 1996.

Hall of Fame NBA forward Elgin Baylor was a prolific scorer and rebounder for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers.

Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake holds the world record for the 4-by-100-meter relay. In 2012, he won a silver medal in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, losing to rival and fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt in both events.

Usain Bolt became the first man in Olympic history to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter races in world record times in 2008. Four years later, at the London Olympics, he became the first man to win gold medals in both the 100 and 200 at consecutive Olympic Games and the first man in history to set three world records in a single Olympic Games competition.

Timothy Bradley is an American boxing champion, who has won WBO and WBC titles. In June 2012,  Bradley won a bout against multi-title champion Manny Pacquia, spurring disbelief among thousands of fans and wide media speculation. 

Jim Brown is a record-holding, former NFL fullback who's been elected to his sport's Hall of Fame and who's also worked as a model and film actor.

Kobe Bryant is an NBA athlete who's one of the leading players in career points, having earned multiple championship rings. He has also won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. basketball team.

African-American jockey Isaac Burns Murphy repeatedly won the Kentucky Derby and was posthumously inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame.

Plaxico Burress is an American football wide receiver who has played in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New York Giants and the New York Jets.

Veronica Campbell-Brown is the youngest Jamaican woman to win an Olympic medal. At the 2012 Olympic Games, she became a six-time Olympic medalist.

At the height of his career, boxer Rubin Carter was twice wrongly convicted of a triple murder and was imprisoned for nearly two decades.

Wilt Chamberlain was the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 cumulative points over his career, and the first and only player to score 100 points in a single game.

American professional basketball player Jason Collins became the first active openly gay male athlete in the four major North American professional sports.

In 2004, athlete Maritza Correia made history as the first African-American woman to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic Swim Team. She later became the first African-American woman to break an American record.

Willie Davenport was an Olympic athlete and medal winner and one of only a few Americans to compete in both the Summer and Winter games.

Ernie Davis became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy before his life was tragically cut short by leukemia at the age of 23.

In 1996, Dominique Dawes won Olympic gold with the U.S. women's gymnastics team as well as an individual bronze medal—becoming the first African American to win an individual Olympic medal in women's gymnastics.

Soccer player Ronaldo starred for the Brazilian national team and several European clubs over the course of a career that spanned nearly two decades.

American track athlete Gail Devers overcame Graves disease, a thyroid disorder, to win Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996.

Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas is best known as the first African American to win the individual all-around event. She also won a team gold medal for the U.S. at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

American football wide receiver Donald Driver, drafted by the Greenbay Packers in 1999, won the 14th season of Dancing with the Stars in May 2012.

Basketball player Tim Duncan has led the San Antonio Spurs to multiple championships and is widely hailed as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.

Kevin Durant is a top-scoring American professional basketball player, who plays for the National Basketball Association's Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.

Teresa Edwards is an American basketball player best known for winning five Olympic medals in women’s basketball including four gold and one bronze.

Hall of Fame basketball forward Julius Erving, or "Dr. J," was an acrobatic player in the NBA and ABA. His dunks and graceful play helped change the game.

Barney Ewell was one of the leading sprinters of the 1940s, and won three medals at the 1948 Olympics.

Patrick Ewing is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player best known for winning Olympic Gold Medals in 1984 and 1992 for U.S. Men's Basketball.

Allyson Felix is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she won two gold medals, in the women's 200 and the 4-by-100-meter relay.

George Foreman is a retired American boxer who twice won boxing's heavyweight championship. After retiring, he became a popular pitchman.

Rube Foster was a baseball player and manager who organized the Negro National League, the first long-lasting professional league for African American players.

Sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became the first Jamaican woman to win the 100-meter Olympic gold medal in 2008. She won her second straight 100-meter Olympic gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Joe Frazier was the world heavyweight boxing champion from February 1970 until January 1973 and fought in the famous "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975.

Tyson Gay is a track and field athlete who specializes in sprinting. He placed fourth in the men's 100 at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, following a hamstring injury.

Tennis star Althea Gibson was the first African American to play at Wimbledon. She also broke racial barriers in professional golf.

American professional baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr. was a dominant power hitter of the 1990s and ranked among the best defensive outfielders of all time.

Quarterback Robert Griffin III won the 2011 Heisman Trophy before emerging as a dynamic playmaker for the NFL's Washington Redskins.

American football player Santonio Holmes was named MVP of Super Bowl XLIII after making the game-winning touchdown catch for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Boxer Evander Holyfield fought in the Olympics and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1990 to 1992, and again from 1993 to 1994. In an infamous bout in 1996, Holyfield's ear was bitten by Mike Tyson.

American professional basketball player Dwight Howard began playing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012. Prior to that, he was a star with the Orlando Magic.

Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin helped lead the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in the early 1990s.

Bo Jackson came to fame in the 1980s as a multitalented athlete, who excelled in baseball, football, and track at an early age.

LeBron James, one of the NBA's leading players, is the youngest player to win the Rookie of the Year Award, among several other distinctions. He led the Miami Heat to an NBA champion victory in 2012.

Derek Jeter is a Major League Baseball Player with the New York Yankees and was a key factor in their 1990s World Series wins.

A massive wide receiver with explosive speed and game-breaking abilities, Calvin Johnson has developed into one of the NFL's most dominant players.

Dwayne Johnson became a film actor (2001's The Mummy) after gaining fame with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Rock."

Jack Johnson, nicknamed "the Galveston Giant," was the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion.

For 12 years, Earvin "Magic" Johnson dominated the court as one of America's best basketball players. In 1991, he announced that he had the AIDS virus.

Rafer Johnson is an American athlete who won a gold medal in the decathlon in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

Roy Jones Jr. is a record-holding boxing champion known for his matches on HBO who has also done TV commentary work.

Michael Jordan is a former American basketball player who led the Bulls to six national championships and earned the NBA Most Valuable Player Award five times.

Olympic gold medalist Florence Joyner brought style to track and field with form-fitting bodysuits, six-inch fingernails and amazing speed. She still holds the world records in the 100- and 200-meter events.

One of the greatest athletes of all time, track and field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee has won three Olympic gold medals, as well as one silver and two bronze.

National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the starting QB for the San Francisco 49ers. In 2012 he led the franchise to Super Bowl XLVII.

Sugar Ray Leonard was a champion Olympic and professional welterweight boxer. He retired from the sport in 1997 and was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Lisa Leslie was an All-Star basketball player, Olympic gold medalist and WNBA league MVP.

Lennox Lewis was the first British boxer to hold the undisputed world heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons (who won the title in 1899). Lewis won Olympic gold in 1988.

NFL linebacker Ray Lewis is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Super Bowl MVP and played his entire 17-year career with the Baltimore Ravens.

Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing while serving time in a Missouri State penitentiary. He became a professional fighter in 1953.

The world heavyweight boxing champion from June 22, 1937, until March 1, 1949, Joe Louis held the title longer than anyone else in history.

A former ABA star and three-time NBA Most Valuable Player, Hall of Fame center Moses Malone was the first basketball player to skip college and go pro.

Willie Mays played professional baseball for the Giants and the Mets. He was one of the best batters and fielders at the time.

American boxer Floyd Mayweather is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of his generation. HBO's documentary about him, 24/7, increased his popularity.

Baseball player Joe Morgan won consecutive National League MVP awards 1975–1976, when he led the Cincinnati Reds to back-to-back World Series championships.

Boxer "Sugar" Shane Mosley won championships in three separate weight classes to forge a legacy as one of the sport's most accomplished performers.

Standing 7 feet tall and weighing 315 pounds, Shaquille O'Neal was one of the most dominant players in the NBA. After his 2011 retirement, he became an on-screen league analyst.

Lamar Odom is an American basketball player for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, best known for playing seven seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, and for marrying reality star Khloé Kardashian.

Michael Oher is an NFL football player with the Baltimore Ravens. He was the subject of Michael Lewis's book, The Blind Side, and the 2009 film of the same name.

Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships during the peak of his magnificent 18-year professional career.