Because of the stature of Major League Baseball at the time, Jackie Robinson breaking its color line in 1947 remains the signature moment of desegregation in American sports.
Still, as far as long-term commitment to diversity and yanking down social barriers, no sports league has been more consistently pro-active than the National Basketball Association.
The same year Robinson joined MLB, Wataru Misaka, a Japanese-American, became the first non-Caucasian, in the NBA when he played three games for the New York Knicks.
Once Earl Lloyd became the first African-American to play in the NBA on Oct. 31, 1950, the path of integration was full steam ahead in the league.