North Carolina State's First Black Athlete (1958)

1958 Irwin Holmes

In 1958 Irwin Holmes joined the North Carolina State University's tennis team making him one of the first black athletes at the University. Holmes would also become the first African American to serve as captain of an athletics team. Holmes was also one of the first four black students admitted as undergraduates in 1958. He would also earned the distinction of being the first black undergraduate to earn a degree, having graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1960.

 [1] Historical State, “African Americans, Timeline,” accessed October 25, 2014. http://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/timelines/african-americans#d1960.