Meet athletes and pioneers, and explore the objects that tell their stories.
8,756 matching cards · 24 cards per page
1948–2019
William A. Thomas (October 21, 1948 – January 18, 2019) was an American college football coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1984 to 1988 and Texas Southern University…
Loading image…1897–1969
William Bell (August 31, 1897 – March 16, 1969) was an American professional baseball pitcher, outfielder and manager in the Negro leagues. Born in Galveston, Texas, Bell played for the Kansas City Monarchs for the first eight seasons of his career.
1930–2021
William Bell Jr. (July 30, 1930 – March 6, 2021) was an American pitcher who played in the Negro American League in all or part of four seasons spanning from 1949 to 1954. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he batted and threw left handed.
May 12, 2013
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGThe oral history consists of eleven digital files: 2011.174.88.1a, 2011.174.88.1b, 2011.174.88.1c, 2011.174.88.1d, 2011.174.88.1e, 2011.174.88.1f, 2011.174.88.1g, 2011.174.88.1h, 2011.174.88.1i, 2011.174.88.1j, and 2011.174.88.1k. Basketball player William…
Loading image…1869–1950
William H. Binga (February 26, 1869 – October 14, 1950) was an American third baseman, catcher and manager in the pre-Negro league baseball era. Born in Michigan, Binga played most of his career in Chicago, Illinois, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and…
Loading image…1996–
William Bushamuka (born January 24, 1996) is an American tennis player of Congolese descent. Bushamuka has a career high ATP singles ranking of 904, achieved on November 11, 2019, and a career high ATP doubles ranking of 638, achieved on October 7, 2019.…
1939
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGMassachusetts State Council Knights of Columbus, William C. Prout Memorial Games gold medal awarded for the 50 Yard Dash event to Eulace Peacock in 1939. The medal consists of a gold toned pin holding a red, white, and blue ribbon attached to a gold toned…
1940
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGMassachusetts State Council Knights of Columbus, William C. Prout Memorial Games gold medal awarded for the 50 Yard Dash event to Eulace Peacock in 1940. The medal consists of a gold toned pin holding a red, white, and blue ribbon attached to a gold toned…
Loading image…1950–
William C. Rhoden (born 1950) is an American sports journalist and author who formerly worked as a columnist for The New York Times from 1983 until 2016, when he joined ESPN's The Undefeated as a writer-at-large, where he is currently employed. Rhoden is…
1956–
William Lee (born September 27, 1956 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a former professional middleweight boxer who fought out of the fabled Kronk Gym in Detroit. He is best known for his win against John LoCicero and his unsuccessful challenge of…
Loading image…1877–1928
William Clarence Matthews (January 7, 1877 – April 9, 1928) was an early 20th-century African-American pioneer in athletics, politics and law. Born in Selma, Alabama, Matthews was enrolled at the Tuskegee Institute and, with the help of Booker T.…
1940–1999
William "Dynamite" Douglas (21 March 1940 – 7 October 1999) was an American boxer. His son is former undisputed world heavyweight champion, James "Buster" Douglas. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Douglas was a contender in the middleweight and…
1930–2014
William Garfield Dumpson (February 12, 1930 – July 15, 2014) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. Dumpson was raised and attended school in Port Washington, New York. He was a member of the Indianapolis Clowns in 1950, Homestead Grays,…
Loading image…1860–1937
William Edward White (October 1860 – March 29, 1937) was a 19th-century American baseball player. He played as a substitute in one professional baseball game for the Providence Grays of the National League, on June 21, 1879. Work by the Society for…
Loading image…1985–
William Gay (born January 1, 1985) is an American professional football coach and former cornerback who is the cornerbacks coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals…
1937–1996
William Henry "Rock" Glosson (January 18, 1937 – October 9, 1996) was an American gridiron football player, coach of football and golf, and college athletics administrator. He was the seventh head football coach at Mississippi Valley State College—now…
Loading image…1868–1949
William Henry Lewis (November 28, 1868 – January 1, 1949) was an African-American pioneer in athletics, law and politics. Born in Virginia to freedmen, he graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he had been one of the first African-American…
1947–
William K. Head (born November 15, 1947) is an American former football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as head football coach at Fayetteville State University from 1981 to 1984 and at Kentucky State University from 1987 until 1989,…
1909–1981
William McNeil "Big Bill" Bell Sr. (June 10, 1909 – May 10, 1991) was an American college football player and coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina from 1934 to 1935,…
1972–
William Chidi Njoku (born March 5, 1972) is a Ghanaian-Canadian former professional basketball player and member of the Canada national men's basketball team. A 6'9½" forward born in Accra, Ghana, Njoku immigrated to Canada as a four-year-old along with…
1896–1968
William Pennington Young (October 28, 1896 – November 30, 1968), nicknamed "Pep" or "Pimp", was an American Negro league catcher who played for the Homestead Grays in the 1920s.
1915–2013
William Talton "Sonny" Randall (August 5, 1915 – February 13, 2013) was an American professional baseball player during the 1940s. Randall played during the segregated era when black baseball players were not allowed to play in either Major League Baseball…
April 13, 2013
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGThe oral history consists of eight digital files: 2011.174.82.1a, 2011.174.82.1b, 2011.174.82.1c, 2011.174.82.1d, 2011.174.82.1e, 2011.174.82.1f, 2011.174.82.1g, and 2011.174.82.1h. Willy Siegel Leventhal discusses his childhood in California, his…
Dates not recorded
William S. Taylor was an American college football and college basketball coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Samuel Huston College in Austin, Texas from 1926 to 1927, Morgan College (now known as Morgan State…
Biographies, museum objects and archive records are distinct card types. Every card links to its historical source.
