For years, Black players were tacitly banned from professional football leagues

The Harlem Globetrotters played their first game in 1927

Black players were not permitted on the existing professional basketball teams, but Abe Saperstein—the team's original coach, owner, manager, and sometimes player—leaned into the team's all-Black roster, nodding to New York's historically Black neighborhood even though the team didn't play there until the late 1960s.

How baseball shaped Black America during Reconstruction

A cornerstone of the budding Black culture following the Civil War was baseball, with several clubs springing up in Black neighborhoods and leaders like Frederick Douglass cheering on the players, including his son, who played for a team in Washington. This detailed history of the early Black leagues unpacks how the game enhanced the upwardly mobile community—and why that fact led to the segregation of what would become Major League Baseball.

Examining golf's problems with race

In 1961, the PGA removed the "Caucasian-only" membership clause, marking the last major professional sports organization to desegregate. But unlike other sports, golf didn't see an influx of Black players following the change. This article from The Ringer's Lex Pryor examines golf's complicated history with race and gender, showing both the progress made and the challenges that remain.

The 1919 Chicago White Sox were banned from baseball for fixing the World Series

The Black Sox scandal involved eight 1919 Chicago White Sox members accused of intentionally losing that season’s World Series in exchange for financial kickbacks from gamblers. Ultimately acquitted in court, the players, including star outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, were permanently banned from baseball.

Jackie Robinson, who broke the MLB's color barrier, made his debut in 1947

In the early 1940s, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey began scouting Negro League players to break baseball’s long-standing color barrier. Jackie Robinson was signed in 1945 and made his major league debut on Opening Day 1947 against the Boston Braves.

George Blanda was the first fantasy football draft pick

The first pick in the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League was future Hall of Famer George Blanda, then an Oakland Raider. Blanda played quarterback and kicker. Because of his dual role, the GOPPPL allowed him to be drafted twice, by two separate competitors.

The first college football game was played in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton

On November 6, 1869, Rutgers defeated Princeton 6–4 in what is considered the first college football game. Played under soccer-like rules, it marked the birth of a sport that would evolve into American football.

Black Americans were systematically excluded from juries for much of US history

Literacy tests, poll taxes, and even explicit laws kept Black Americans off juries until well into the 20th century. The Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 mandated that federal juries reflect a fair cross-section of the community, though racial disparities in jury selection persist.

NFL explained

The NFL is the premier professional American football league, founded in 1920 in Canton, Ohio. It consists of 32 teams playing an 18-week regular season from September to January, culminating in the Super Bowl championship in February. The NFL has grown into the world's most valuable sports league, generating nearly $20B in revenue in 2023, and with teams valued at $163B combined. Learn its history here.

Teddy Roosevelt’s intervention helped save a brutal early version of football

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt pressured college leaders to reform football amid public outrage over 18 player deaths. His push led to rule changes—like the forward pass—that reduced violence and ensured the sport’s survival.

Sports leagues have attempted to prevent athletes from betting

As pro and collegiate sports embrace betting (and the revenue that comes with it), each league works diligently to ensure the integrity of the games by hiring private firms to analyze irregular bets. These companies have flagged bets that led to the firing of Alabama’s baseball coach, the suspension of multiple athletes at Iowa and Iowa State, and, most recently, a lifetime ban on former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter by the NBA in April 2024.

Fantasy sports began in the 1860s

“Sebring Parlor Base Ball,” a tabletop board game in which players flicked a coin as if they were hitters is believed to be the first game that allowed players to imagine themselves as athletes without actually taking part in physical activities.

In 1956, Althea Gibson became the first Black Grand Slam champion

From 1944 to 1956, Althea Gibson dominated the American Tennis Association circuit, all while Jim Crow laws denied her entry into tournaments or even a hotel room like her fellow white competitors. This Wimbledon video shows her experience becoming the first Black woman to play the tournament in 1951, and meeting Queen Elizabeth II in 1957 when she won.

Southern Black Codes sought to preserve prewar racial labor structures

With little federal oversight, Southern states enacted laws effectively reestablishing slavery's economic and social order. These laws, known as the "Black Codes," restricted freed people's movement, labor, and property rights.

Richard Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1794 after he was pulled from his knees during prayer

Born into slavery, Richard Allen left St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church when he and other Black congregants faced segregation and discrimination. He then established Bethel AME Church, which became the first congregation of one of the oldest and largest Black denominations in the world.

How the WBL set the stage for the WNBA

Nearly two decades before the WNBA began, there was the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's professional basketball league in the United States. Though it was only around for three years, it was groundbreaking, building the template for women's leagues and, eventually, for the WNBA.

The Zulu krewe dons black face paint, but says it's not blackface

The majority Black organization was founded in the early 1900s, when Mardi Gras was still segregated. They painted their faces black, both to comply with the Mardi Gras rule requiring masks and to reenact a vaudeville sketch. In recent years, their facepaint has been criticized by some as a form of Jim Crow minstrelsy.

What do you know about WWI's only Black fighter pilot?

This in-depth article follows the life of Eugene Bullard, a Black American nicknamed the "Black Swallow of Death" for his work in WWI. Though much of Bullard's life is known, some pieces, like what happened to Bullard's brother who vanished in the Jim Crow South, continue to escape historical record.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was America's first major immigration restriction

The act, signed in 1882, barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States, marking the first significant restriction on free immigration. This overview examines 19th-century Chinese immigration, rising anti-Chinese sentiment, and the diplomatic implications of exclusionary legislation.

Free agency dramatically changed player compensation

When team owners created the reserve clause in 1879, the idea was that each team would control player salaries rather than the open market. After the 1975 elimination of the reserve clause, players became eligible for free agency after a contract expired, increasing wages across the league.

Professional and amateur athletes have used the anthem as an opportunity to protest

Colin Kaepernick’s protests during NFL games weren’t the first instances of athletes using the pregame tradition to make a political statement. This history walks through several similar instances, highlighting several lesser-known instances.

Following the NFL's concussion settlement, numerous victims were denied payouts

In 2015, the NFL finalized a landmark settlement with former players alleging concussions suffered in games were causing brain diseases. The settlement promised to pay every former player who developed dementia or diseases linked to concussions. This Washington Post investigation interviewed former players who filed claims under the agreement, but said they were rejected based on definitions in the settlement.

FIFA was formed in 1904 and held its first tournament in 1930

In 1930, the first World Cup was held in Uruguay after the Olympics refused to allow professional soccer players to play in the 1932 games. The host country made it to the final of the 13-team event, playing against Argentina. Watch this remastered film of the 1930 match with Uruguay defeating Argentina 4-2 in front of 68,000 screaming fans at the newly opened Estadio Centenario.

The term ‘Black Friday’ originally referred to a 1869 US gold market crash

After financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the US gold market, the market crashed on September 24, 1869, bankrupting thousands of investors and sending stock prices plummeting by 18%. That day became known as “Black Friday” long before the unofficial retail holiday emerged.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a 1955-56 mass protest against bus segregation

Organized in 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott mobilized tens of thousands of Black bus riders to boycott city buses for 381 days, crippling the system and ultimately leading to desegregation through a Supreme Court ruling. A 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. was an organizer.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.