The complete list of state records below shows that the Plains states, far away from the ocean, can be hotter than the humid Southeast. The USA's highest temperature, 134Â° on July 10, 1913 in Death Valley, Calif., is also the official highest temperature in the Western Hemisphere. Ordinary summer heat makes much of the Southwest, including Death Valley, sizzle from June through August.
A year earlier, Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two black players in professional football history and helped the Pros win the championship in the NFLâs inaugural season. The Pros ran the single-wing, and Pollard was the player lined up behind the center who received the snaps.
First Black Olympic Gold Medalist / All Star. Donald Barksdale was the first African American Olympic gold medalist and the first NBA all-star. At age 28, he began in the NBA with the Washington Bullets. In 1953, he became the first black player to ever play in an NBA all star game.