This February, Sports Illustrated is celebrating Black History Month by spotlighting a different iconic athlete every day. Today, SI looks back on the legacy of Bobo Brazil.
Bobo Brazil, real name Houston Harris, help desegregate professional wrestling throughout his four-decade career.
"He was sort of an idol because there were no black wrestlers around back then,″ the Rev. Donald Adkins told The Herald-Palladium after Brazil died in 1998. "Everybody loved him, especially the kids."
Among his admirers was wrestler "Soulman" Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Brazil eventually became a mentor and friend to the elder Johnson, who helped further integrate the once all-white wrestling circuit.