Those We Lost — May 11

Honoring those we lost on May 11 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Moses Fleetwood Walker

Born October 7, 1856 — Died May 11, 1924

Field: Baseball / Early MLB Integration / Black Sports Firsts

Moses Fleetwood Walker was a catcher who played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884, making him one of the first Black players in major league baseball before the color line hardened.

Why it matters: Walker’s story reminds us that Black men appeared in major league baseball before the long period of exclusion that Jackie Robinson later broke in the modern era. His one-season major league career shows how quickly racism narrowed opportunities that had briefly been possible.

Bob Marley

Born February 6, 1945 — Died May 11, 1981

Field: Reggae / Pan-African Consciousness / Black Global Culture / Cultural Bridge

Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, and global reggae icon whose music carried messages of freedom, resistance, spirituality, African identity, and human liberation. Though Jamaican-born, Marley’s influence became deeply rooted in Black American culture through music, political consciousness, Rastafari imagery, Pan-African identity, and the shared language of resistance across the African diaspora.

Why it matters: Marley belongs in this archive as a Cultural Bridge figure. His music became part of Black American life — played in homes, parks, parties, protests, barbershops, college campuses, and gatherings where Black people connected struggle, joy, spirituality, and liberation. He reminds us that Black American culture has always been in conversation with the wider African diaspora.

Fritz Pollard

Born January 27, 1894 — Died May 11, 1986

Field: Football / Coaching / Black Sports Firsts

Fritz Pollard was a pioneering football player and coach, and the first Black head coach in the NFL.

Why it matters: Pollard belongs in the story of Black athletic intelligence, leadership, and exclusion in early professional football.

Floyd Patterson

Born January 4, 1935 — Died May 11, 2006

Field: Boxing / Olympic Gold / Heavyweight Champion

Floyd Patterson was an Olympic gold medalist and world heavyweight champion.

Why it matters: Patterson became the youngest world heavyweight champion in history at the time when he won the title at age 21 in 1956, a record later broken by Mike Tyson. He was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it.

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Wear the history: Bob Marley — from the Black Knowledge Wear collection.