Black History

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to Induct Pitchers Mike Norris, Vida Blue

Mike Norris and the late Vida Blue, baseball legends who are also both known for supporting youth athletes in the local community, were recently named to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s (NLBM) seventh “Hall of Game” induction class.

Published

1 year ago

October 2, 2023

Oakland Post

Vida Blue (left) and Mike Norris. Courtesy Richmond Standard

The Richmond Standard

The NLBM is inducting five pitchers who were part of the iconic group known as the “Black Aces,” a term coined by the late Jim “Mudcat” Grant that celebrates 15 African American pitchers who won 20 games or more in a Major League Baseball season.

The five members headlining the 2023 Hall of Game Class include Norris, Blue, Al Downing, Dwight Gooden, and Dontrelle Willis.

“Dave Stewart, who will accept on behalf of Blue, his former Oakland A’s teammate, Ferguson Jenkins, J.R. Richard, and Mudcat Grant, were inducted into the Hall of Game in previous years,” the NLBM states. “CC Sabathia and David Price had schedule conflicts and will be inducted in a subsequent class.”

The 2023 Hall of Game, presented by Hy-Vee, will be held at 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Gem Theater in Kansas City, MO.

The West Contra Costa County community is intimately familiar with Norris and Blue, who both played for Bay Area MLB teams and gained a reputation for supporting local youth ball players.

Blue died in May of last year. Norris remains involved locally, helping youth via participation in The Mike Norris Baseball Academy and San Pablo Baseball Association.

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Black History

From Louisville to the Olympics: The Legacy of William DeHart Hubbard

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history. Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Published

1 week ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

William DeHart Hubbard made history in 1924 when Hubbard made Olympic history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Public Domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history.

Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Hubbard was the only African American on the school’s track team; he was also the first African American varsity track letterman at the university. In his college career, Hubbard won several meets including being a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, eight-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion, and seven-time Big Ten Conference champion in track and field. His 1925 outdoor long jump of 25 feet 10¹⁄₂ inches stood as the Michigan Wolverines team record until 1980, and it is still second. His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3.5 inches stood as a Big Ten Championships record until Jesse Owens broke it in 1935 with what is now the current record of 26 feet 8.25 inches.

In 1924, he was selected to represent the United States at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Competing against some of the best athletes in the world, Hubbard made history by winning the gold medal in the long jump by jumping 24 feet 5.5 inches. This victory made him the first African American to win an individual gold medal in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

In 1925, Hubbard broke the long jump world record with a leap of 25 feet 10⁷⁄₈ inches at the NCAA championships. In 1927, he bettered that with a jump of 26 feet 2.25 inches — which would have been the first ever over 26 feet — but meet officials disallowed it, claiming that the take-off board was an inch higher than the surface of the landing pit. He also competed in the hurdles at the 1926 AAU championships. He graduated with honors in 1927.

He specialized in the long jump, a sport that would soon bring him international fame.

Hubbard’s Olympic success was not just a personal triumph but a milestone for African Americans in sports. His victory challenged the prevailing stereotypes of the time and inspired a generation of Black athletes to pursue their dreams in the face of adversity.

After his Olympic success, he continued to excel in track and field. He set an additional world record in 1925 with a jump of 25 feet 10.75 inches, which stood for several years. His accomplishments were not limited to athletics, as he also became involved in civic and business endeavors after his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1927.

Following his athletic career, Hubbard returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, where he took on various roles serving his community and the progress of African Americans. He worked as a manager for the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission and later became a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Administration.

Hubbard passed away on June 23, 1976. As the first African American to win an individual Gold Medal in the Olympics, he not only paved the way for future generations of athletes but also demonstrated the profound impact that sports can have on societal change.