Latest / Sports History Network / This Week in NDN All-Stars History: August 23–29, 2026

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This Week in NDN All-Stars History: August 23–29, 2026 · Sports History Network

• 0:58
  He's just 19 years old.
• 1:00
  Today he steps onto a Major League baseball field for the very first time.
• 1:06
  There's no way to know what lies ahead.
• 1:09
  10 Gold Gloves, 14 All Star selections, two Most Valuable Player awards, two World Series championships, and eventually a place in Cooperstown.
• 1:24
  But all of that is still in the future.
• 1:26
  Today he's simply a 19 year old kid making his major league debut.
• 1:33
  And that's just one of the stories waiting for us this week in Indian All Stars history.
• 1:38
  Welcome to Indian All Stars.
• 1:41
  I'm Bill Black and every week we travel back to discover how Native athletes help shape the world of sports.
• 1:47
  Because history isn't trapped behind these museum glass, it comes alive.
• 1:52
  Indian All Stars celebrates great Native American athletes from the past and the present, bringing these great All Stars back into the spotlight for new generations.
• 2:02
  Now let's look back and find out what happened.
• 2:05
  Here's what happened the week of August 23rd through August 29th in Indian All Stars history.
• 2:12
  It's August 23rd and we begin in 2002 with Man Dan Hidatsa and Arikara boxer Virgil Hill.
• 2:20
  Hill steps into the ring against Carlos Bates.
• 2:23
  The fight doesn't make it out of the opening round.
• 2:26
  One minute and fifty seconds into round one, Hill stops Bates by technical knockout.
• 2:32
  It's a quick night's work for the former world champion.
• 2:35
  We move to August 24th and travel back to 1918.
• 2:40
  Cherokee heavyweight Jack Dempsey steps into the ring against Terry Keller at Westwood Field Gym in Dayton, Ohio.
• 2:47
  Dempsey takes control of the bout and stops Keller by technical knockout in the fifth round.
• 2:53
  More than a century later in 2025, Inupiat basketball star Alyssa Pilly signs with the Los Angeles Sparks for the remainder of the WNBA season.
• 3:03
  Pilly has already spent two 10 day contracts with Los Angeles, now the Sparks keeper for the rest of the season, giving Pilly another opportunity to establish herself in the WNBA.
• 3:16
  Next we arrive at August 26th.
• 3:19
  In 1942.
• 3:20
  Iroquois boxing great Henry Armstrong steps into the ring against Rodolfo Ramirez.
• 3:25
  Armstrong brings the fight to an end in the eighth round.
• 3:29
  One minute and 38 seconds into the round, Armstrong knocks Ramirez out and adds another victory to his remarkable career.
• 3:38
  Then we jump ahead to 2021, where Mohawk race car driver Dexter Stacy takes to the track for the frontline workers.
• 3:45
  125.
• 3:47
  Stacy's number 92 Chevrolet carries a special Every Child Matters paint scheme honoring the survivors and victims of indigenous residential schools.
• 3:57
  Rain delays the first of two races scheduled that night, but when racing finally begins, Stacy starts 16th and begins fighting his way forward on lap 64, a crash on the front stretch brings his race to an abrupt end.
• 4:14
  The damage is too severe to repair in time for the second race of the night.
• 4:19
  The result may end Stacy's night, but the every child matters message carried by his 92 Chevrolet reaches far beyond the racetrack.
• 4:29
  We move ahead to August 27th beginning in 1934.
• 4:34
  Cherokee boxer Joe Louis steps into the ring against Buck Everett.
• 4:38
  Lewis makes quick work of the fight, knocking Everett out in the second round.
• 4:44
  Nine years later, Iroquois boxing legend Henry Armstrong faces one of the great fighters of the next generation.
• 4:51
  His opponent is the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson, a full 10 years younger than Armstrong.
• 4:57
  The fight goes the distance with Robinson earning the victory by unanimous decision.
• 5:03
  We jump ahead to 2004, where Alabama boxer Brandon Rios takes on Abraham Verdugo.
• 5:10
  Rios ends the fight early, 1 minute and 15 seconds into the second round.
• 5:16
  He earns the victory by technical knockout.
• 5:19
  Finally, we arrive in 2023 and Navajo and San Felipe soccer player Madison Hammond is facing her former club, Ol Reign.
• 5:30
  Hammond is playing for Angel City Football Club and today she delivers a career first.
• 5:36
  She scores the first National Women's Soccer League goal of her career and it couldn't come at a better time.
• 5:42
  Hammond's first league goal proves to be the match winner, lifting Angel City to victory over her former team.
• 5:50
  Next we arrive at August 28th.
• 5:53
  We begin in 1934 with Iroquois boxer Henry Armstrong.
• 5:58
  Armstrong once again faces Perfecto Lopez and this time he stops Lopez by technical knockout in the fifth round.
• 6:06
  We move ahead to 1951 where Cherokee pitcher early win is nearly untouchable against the Philadelphia Athletics.
• 6:15
  Win allows just one hit.
• 6:18
  Cleveland wins one to nothing as Wynn finishes the day with a one hit shutout.
• 6:24
  Then we arrive in 1967.
• 6:27
  Remember that 19 year old kid we told you about at the beginning of the show?
• 6:31
  Here he is.
• 6:33
  Choctaw catcher Johnny Bench makes his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds.
• 6:38
  Today is the beginning of a career that will eventually include 10 Gold Gloves, 14 All Star selections, two Most Most Valuable Player awards, two World Series championships and a place in the Baseball hall of fame.
• 6:53
  But on August 28, 1967, all of that is still ahead of him.
• 6:59
  Today, Johnny Bench is simply a 19 year old rookie playing his first major league game.
• 7:05
  We move ahead to 1976 where Salish and Kootenai boxer Marvin Campbell faces Johnny Townsend.
• 7:13
  The fight goes all 10 rounds with Camel earning the victory by unanimous decision.
• 7:18
  Then in 1993, Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara boxing great Virgil Hill steps into the ring against Sergio Daniel Morani.
• 7:28
  Hill goes the full 12 rounds and earns a unanimous decision victory.
• 7:34
  Finally, we arrive at August 29th in 1937.
• 7:39
  Cherokee outfielder Bob Johnson steps to the plate against the Chicago White Sox and he has quite a first inning.
• 7:46
  Johnson drives in six runs in the inning, blasting a grand slam and adding a two run double.
• 7:53
  Six runs batted in in a single inning.
• 7:56
  It's a remarkable day at the plate for the Cherokee slugger, and it brings this week in Indian All Stars history to a close.
• 8:06
  If you enjoyed today's look back, I invite you to visit IndianAllStars.com where you'll find more athlete stories, blog articles, videos, podcast episodes, and exclusive merchandise celebrating great Native American athletes from the past and the present.
• 8:23
  I hope you'll join me again next week as we bring more great Native athletes back into the spotlight.
• 8:29
  Until then, this is Indian All Stars.