Martin Luther King Jr.’s Spirit Personified by Bill Russell, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali (Photos)

Before Martin Luther King Jr. declared "I have a dream," Jackie Robinson shattered segregation in Major League Baseball by suiting up for the Brooklyn Dodgers. While Americans spent Monday recalling the King's impact, they may also remember that King's dream was personified in athletes such as Robinson.

Sam Cunningham showed Southern college football coaches that racial discrimination wasn't just wrong, it could also cost them wins. Texas Western went to the NCAA Championship game in 1966 and showed Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp that a team with five African-American starters could dismantle the all-white Wildcats.

In Boston, Bill Russell became an influential figure in a city struggling with race relations.

The fight against discrimination was not one King could fight alone. He had help, directly or indirectly, from some of the greatest legends in sports.

Check out 10 athletes who broke down racial barriers>>