OPINION

By Sean Deveney

updated 6:40 p.m. ET Feb. 21, 2007

Sean Deveney

On the brink of the most important breakthrough in American sports, the Brooklyn Dodgers nonetheless were on a far different brink as spring training neared in 1947 — the brink of player insurrection.

Months earlier, the team had disclosed its intention of using Jackie Robinson in its lineup, thereby breaking baseball's modern color barrier. Many Dodgers were angry. Before spring training, outfielder Dixie Walker started a petition stating his refusal to play with Robinson and asked fellow Dodgers to sign it. Shortstop Pee Wee Reese, a Southerner, refused, and without Reese's backing, the petition died. Robinson thanked Reese, who later recalled, "It was the first time I'd ever shaken the hand of a black man."

Being the first major league black player to have his hand shaken by a white teammate — that's only part of Robinson's enduring legacy. He helped change a segregated America in which opportunities melted in the face of deep-seated prejudices. As Robinson's gravestone reminds us: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

American sports are still littered with racial inequities, but increasingly black sports figures are rewarded the same as their white counterparts, on and off the field. What's more, those for whom Robinson blazed a trail are blazing new trails. With the 60th anniversary of Robinson's debut (April 15, 1947) approaching, and in honor of Black History Month, Sporting News recognizes today's 10 most influential black sports personalities:

Tiger Woods. Robinson surely would have smiled if he could have heard Woods (as he told Oprah Winfrey) say, "I'm just who I am, whoever you see in front of you," to describe his mixed ethnicity. What you see is a remarkable athlete, partly of black heritage, dominating a traditionally white sport. At age 31, Woods has won 55 tournaments, including 12 majors, and made more than $66 million. And he has opened doors for young people, most noticeably with The Tiger Woods Learning Center and his Start Something program.

Bob Johnson. The expansion Charlotte Bobcats are struggling, but head honcho Johnson already has developed a strong voice within the NBA. A patient entrepreneur, he nursed his Black Entertainment Television network before selling it for $3 billion, and that made him the first black billionaire in the nation. In 2002, when he became the first black majority owner in sports, Johnson hired a black coach-general manager (Bernie Bickerstaff) and a black team president (Ed Tapscott). Johnson said, "It demonstrates clearly the ability to do this exists in all races."

Magic Johnson. In the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles, where Bloods regularly battle Crips, where no businesses had dared to tread, Johnson summoned the gangs and told them he was opening a movie theater — and that there was to be no gang activity. The sides agreed. The theater now is a successful entity in Johnson's business empire. Since his HIV announcement in 1991, Johnson has thrived as an intrepid businessman who has pulled major corporations into depressed neighborhoods. In Harlem, he opened a theater and a Starbucks. "Now you can't get a brownstone in Harlem for under $1 million," Johnson noted.

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Michael Jordan. Years ago, NBA commissioner David Stern was told of the Chinese love for the "Red Oxen," also known as the Bulls. In Argentina, aspiring players such as Manu Ginobili got their hoops fix with tapes of Jordan. In Europe, in Africa, it was the same. The power to inspire players all over the world resonates — Jordan is the idol of a generation of NBA players, domestic and international. He's part owner and president of the Bobcats and, as the CEO of Nike's Jordan brand, maintains sway over the sneaker industry he ruled as a player. Magic Johnson said it best: "There's Michael Jordan, then there's the rest of us."

Gene Upshaw. It seems natural that Upshaw, known as Governor as a Raiders lineman, has dedicated his post-playing life to representing players. The longtime head of the NFL Players Association, Upshaw has been center stage duringtough times (the strike in 1987) and good ones (the advent of free agents) and has made controversial stands on difficult issues. In 1982, Upshaw presciently said, "I've got be to be involved to speak for those who don't have a spokesman."

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