Wisconsin's Black History: Our Timeline
For more than 100 years, Black student-athletes have played a central role in the success and tradition of the Wisconsin Badgers. From the first integrated team at Wisconsin in 1900 to the Badgers hiring the first Black men's basketball head coach in Big Ten history in 1976, below is a timeline of the Black pioneers and legends in Wisconsin history. You can also learn more by sport.
1875 - William Noland is the first Black student to graduate from the University of Wisconsin.
1900 - Julian Ware (baseball 1900-03) and Adelbert Matthews (baseball 1900-02) are the first Black varsity student-athletes at UW when they suit up for the baseball team in the spring of 1900. Matthews played for two more seasons, and Ware was on the team until 1903. Ware and Matthews are in the above photo of the 1902 Wisconsin baseball team. View the full image here.
1901 - Track and field becomes the second integrated varsity sport at the University of Wisconsin. Olympian and Big Ten champion George Poage ran for track for the Badgers from 1901-1904, setting three school records during his career. Poage was the first in a long line of successful Black trackmen for Wisconsin.
1902 – Julian Ware and Adelbert Matthews help Wisconsin win its first Big Ten baseball title. Ware makes Big Ten history that year when his teammates selected him to be the team captain. He was the first Black man in the Big Ten to be so honored.
1904 - In the course of three months in the summer of 1904, George Poage becomes, in turn, the first Black athlete to win a Big Ten Track and Field championship, and, then, the first Black athlete to win an Olympic medal. Poage wins the 220-yard hurdles and the 440-yard dash at the Western Conference championships and follows that up with bronze medals in the 220-yard and 440-yard hurdles at the Third Olympic Games in St. Louis.
1918 - In 1899, Julian V. Ware tried out for the varsity football team. Although he impressed in early season practices, he left the squad before appearing in a game. 19 years later, Madison-native Leo V. Butts (pictured below) became the first Black athlete to play varsity football for the Badgers, when he suited up for the 1918 squad. Learn more about Wisconsin football's early history with Black student-athletes.
1940 - Ed Smith wins the Big Ten title in the 120-yard hurdles, becoming the second Black Badger athlete to win a Big Ten individual title.
1944/45 - The 1944/45 school year is the last school year in which no Black athletes represented the University of Wisconsin in competition.
1946 - Jamaican sprinter Lloyd LaBeach wins Big Ten titles in the long jump (indoor) and 100-yard dash (outdoor), helping Wisconsin to a third and fifth-place finish. LaBeach would also earn three All-America honors at the 1946 NCAA outdoor championships, turning in runner-up finishes in both the 100 and 200-yard dashes. LaBeach earned 17 of UW's 18 points, helping the Badgers placed fifth at the outdoor national championships.
1946/47/48 - Cal Vernon (1946/47-1947/48) is the first Black member of the UW boxing team, winning the 1948 NCAA Boxing Championship in the 178-pound light heavyweight division. He is one of the first Black athletes in the country to win a collegiate boxing title.
1948 - Cal Vernon and Robert Teague become the first Black athletes to play regularly on the Wisconsin varsity football team.
1948 - After transferring to UCLA, former Badger Lloyd LaBeach goes on to win two bronze medals at the 1948 Olympics, while representing Panama - the country's first two medals. LaBeach becomes the first Black Badger to capture Olympic medals since George Poage had also won two bronze medals at the 1904 games.
1960 - Infielder Frank Burks is the first Black baseball player at UW since 1903.
1966 - Long-time Texas high school football coach Les Ritcherson becomes the first Black member of the Wisconsin coaching staff. Ritcherson, one of the first Black assistants at any major college program, coached receivers and tight ends for four seasons.
1967/68 - Welford Sanders (1967/68-69/70) is the first Black athlete on the UW fencing team, winning varsity letters in three seasons.
