By Zoey Zelinger (286) and Marianna Dobos (286)

It’s always important to shine a spotlight on the talent Central High School nurtures, and with Black History Month right around the corner, it’s the perfect moment to highlight two outstanding Central alumni athletes.

John Baxter Taylor, Jr. (107) was a track and field athlete and the first African-American to win a gold medal at the Olympics. After graduating from Central as captain of the track team, Taylor spent his college years at Penn, winning every one of his races. In 1904, he set an interscholastic world record of 49.2 seconds for the quarter mile. Then three years later, he broke his own record by 0.4 seconds. By 1908, he more than qualified for the Summer Olympics, where he ran the 400-meter race and that same portion of their newest relay, the Olympic medley. Unfortunately, the Americans boycotted the 400 after a controversial call on a fellow teammate. Luckily, Taylor still went on to carry the relay team, who set a world record and brought home the gold.

Charles “Tarzan” Cooper (163) was considered one of the greatest centers of his time, without ever playing for the NBA (as it did not yet exist). Cooper began his career in 1926, with the Philadelphia Panthers, a semi-pro team, before the national league was integrated. He then joined the New York Renaissance, leading them on an 88-game winning streak, and in 1939 cemented them as the first Black team to win a World Professional Tournament title. He ended his career with the Washington Bears, but not before bringing them to the World Professional Tournament in 1943. Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977, only the second Black man to ever do so.