Fabulous "Feel Good" Sports Moments, Pt. 2

Part II of Stiletto Sports' Inspirational Sports Moments .

Imagine.

"What is now proved was once imagined." ~William Blake

Today, I ask that you look at things that are proved—that are our truths and realities today—and ask how they were imagined.

Imagine if...there was no more slavery.

Imagine if...women had the right to vote.

Imagine if...we were no longer "separate but equal," but just "equal," and our schools and cities were no longer segregated.

Imagine if...there was an African-American president of the United States.

It used to be unimaginable that such things would ever happen! Impossible! Never! We were told "No, you can't."

But someone did imagine the unimaginable. Someone believed all these things were possible. Someone said "Yes, you can!"

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"To imagine the unimaginable is the highest use of the imagination." ~Cynthia Oznick

Imagine if...there was a black man who wanted to play major league baseball.

His name was Jackie Robinson.

Imagine if...there was a black man who wanted to play major league baseball.

And he became the first African-American MLB baseball player after 60 years of segregation in the sport.

He broke the color line and changed the world of baseball forever.

Six time All-Star, inducted into the Hall of Fame, and a member of the All-Century Team.

Once, it was unthinkable that a black man would ever play in the major leagues.

Imagine if...a coach wanted to win a championship by using five black players as his starting lineup.

The team was Texas Western and they won the 1966 NCAA Championship over the favored—and all-white—Kentucky Wildcats.

You may have heard of them from a little movie called Glory Road.

Imagine if...a coach wanted to win a championship by using five black players as his starting lineup.

Coach Don Haskins and his basketball team shocked the country when he created a team that revolved around five African-American starters. That was unthinkable in the '60s.

Once, we believed that desegregation would never happen.

Imagine if...there was a woman who wanted to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And not the swimsuit issue.

Her name was Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and she didn't figure skate or play tennis like the other girls.

She had bigger dreams.

Imagine if...there was a woman who wanted to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And not the swimsuit issue.

She became the first female athlete on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1987 for her amazing skill at the long-jump and the heptathlon.

And she was named Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century by SI for women.

It was unthinkable that a woman could be a superstar athlete.

Imagine if...there was a one-armed man, who wanted to be a pitcher for the New York Yankees

His name was Jim Abbott, and he was born without a right hand.

Imagine if...there was a one-armed man, who wanted to be a pitcher for the New York Yankees

And he not only became a pitcher for the MLB, he went on to pitch a no-hitter for the New York Yankees in 1993 against the Cleveland Indians.

It was unimaginable that a man could play a professional sport with a disability.

Imagine if...there was a man who thought he could fly without wings

His name was Michael Jordan.

And he could.

Imagine if...there was a man who thought he could fly without wings

He changed the world of basketball forever and paved away for all of the young stars of today.

And he became the greatest basketball player and one of the greatest athletes of all-time.

He was unimaginable.

Imagine if...a black man wanted to play in the PGA and wear a Master's jacket

His name was Eldrick Woods.

We know him as Tiger.

Imagine if...a black man wanted to play in the PGA and wear a Master's jacket

He came in and took the white-dominated world of the PGA by storm and shook it up. He brought excitement and drama to a sport where clapping over a certain decibel could get you kicked out.

He rejuvenated it.

He became the youngest golfer to win the Masters.

And the first African-American.

It was unimaginable that an African-American would even be allowed to play at the Augusta National Golf Course.

Imagine if...they didn't imagine the unimaginable.

Imagine they were told "no, you can't." And they believed it.

Hard to do isn't it? It's almost unimaginable to now imagine our lives without these icons and their impact.

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"It's kinda fun to do the impossible." ~Walt Disney

"There is no life I know, to compare with Pure Imagination. Living there, you'll be free, if you truly wish to be. If you want to view paradise; simply look around and view it! Anything you want to; do it! Want to change the world? There's nothing to it!" ~Willy Wonka

Imagine the possibilities. Yes. You can.

Up next tomorrow: Inspire.