Bowling was one of the first sports to be racially integrated.
While other sports like swimming and cycling had instances of earlier racial integration, bowling was the first professional sport in the United States to truly desegregate. This happened in 1950 when the American Bowling Congress (ABC) lifted its ban on black bowlers, paving the way for players like Earl Anthony and Bill Jackson to achieve mainstream success.
One of the first sports to be racially integrated was baseball. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he became the first African American player to play in the modern era of the MLB. This historic event paved the way for racial integration in other sports.