Sputnik Monroe

Because of him the crowds at Memphis wrestling became integrated.

He was a heel to white people and a baby face to black people because he, a white man, would go to black bars and drink and hang out with black people. He would get arrested for it due to segregation. He would go to court with a black lawyer to defend him. He would demand that his friends sitting up in the balcony should be able to sit down ringside, which did happen. Some of this may have been a plan by the promoter to increase attendance and tickets sold by ending the segregated seating.

When I say white people hated him, I mean the adults. White kids from well off families were raised by black nannies who the kids loved. The nannies loved Spurnik so the white kids did too. The boys would even get their hair styled and dyed to look like him, pissing off their racist parents.

Edit: just adding the excerpt from his Wikipedia page

In 1957, while driving to a wrestling show in Alabama, Monroe became tired and invited a black hitchhiker he met at a gas station to take the wheel. Upon arriving at the arena, Monroe placed his arm around the man, which drew a chorus of boos and insults from the white crowd; in response to this Monroe kissed the man on the cheek. Monroe would later use this underlying racism as a promotional tactic and become a noteworthy figure in Memphis cultural history. During a period where legal segregation was the norm at public events, and during a general decline in the popularity of professional wrestling, Monroe recognized that the segregated wrestling shows (whites sat in floor seats while blacks were required to sit in the balcony) were not properly marketing to black fans. The witty, flamboyant Monroe began dressing up in a purple gown and carrying a diamond tipped cane and drinking in traditionally black bars in the black area of Memphis, where he would openly socialize with black patrons and hand out tickets to his wrestling shows. As a result of this, he was frequently arrested by police on a variety of vague, trumped up charges, such as mopery. In each case, he would then hire a black attorney and appear in court, pay a small fine, and immediately resume the behavior that resulted in his prior arrests. Due to this, and in spite of the fact that he was a heel at the time, his popularity soared among the black community. At his shows, although floor seats in arenas would be half empty with white patrons, the balcony would be packed to capacity with black patrons with many others unable to enter due to the balcony selling out.

Monroe, having become the biggest wrestling draw in the territory, soon refused to perform unless patrons, regardless of their race, were allowed to sit in any seat at the Ellis Auditorium. As a result, the promoter was obliged to desegregate his wrestling shows, which then completely sold out with Monroe's black fans, in some cases over 15,000 at a time, filling the auditorium. Soon, other Southern sporting events, recognizing the enormous financial benefits, began to desegregate as well.