john baxter taylor jr was the first african american to win an olympic gold medal.
john baxter taylor jr was the first african american to win an olympic gold medal.
first african american to win olympic gold medal?
john baxter taylor jr .
in the 1908 olympic games, in london, england, members of the irish american athletic club won 10 of the u.s. olympic teams total 23 gold medals, or as many as the nations of france, germany and italy combined. the members of the irish american athletic club who were medalists in the 1908 olympic games were; charles bacon, 400 meter hurdles, gold; george bonhag, 3 mile team race, silver; robert cloughen, 200 metres race, silver; john flanagan, hammer throw, gold; johnny hayes, marathon, gold; bill horr, discus-free style, bronze, discus-greek style, silver; matt mcgrath, hammer throw, silver; harry porter, high jump, gold; melvin sheppard, 800 metres race, gold, 1,500 metres race, gold, 1,600 metres medley relay, gold; and martin sheridan, discus-free style, gold, discus-greek style, gold, and standing long jump, bronze; and john baxter taylor, jr., who passed the baton to mel sheppard, to win the gold in the 1,600 meter medley relay, becoming the first african-american to win an olympic gold medal. other irish american athletic club members of the 1908 u.s. olympic team included; joseph bromilow, harvey cohn, daniel kelly, frank riley, william robbins, lawson robertson, michael j. ryan, james p. sullivan and lee talbott.
irish american athletic club
bullet::::- first african american to win individual olympic gold medal: dehart hubbard (long jump, 1924 summer olympics). (see also: john taylor, 1908)









































section::::20th century.:1920s.:1929.









































bullet::::- first african american sportscaster: sherman "jocko" maxwell (wnjr, newark, new jersey)









































section::::20th century.:1940s.









































section::::20th century.:1940s.:1947.









































bullet::::- first african american major league baseball player of the modern era: jackie robinson (brooklyn dodgers). (see also: moses fleetwood walker, 1884)









































bullet::::- first african american consensus college all-american basketball player: don barksdale









































section::::20th century.:1940s.:1948.









































bullet::::- first african american woman to win an olympic gold medal: alice coachman
list of african-american sports firsts