Jackie Robinson
"The fact that the Phillies continued to ride me, I think, brought
our ball club closer together." (1947)
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson donned a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform
and became the first African American to play major league baseball
in the 20th century. The man who broke baseball's color barrier was
born to a sharecropping family in Cairo, Georgia, in 1919. Robinson
was brought up in Pasadena, California, and attended the University
of California at Los Angeles, where he proved to be an exceptional
athlete, earning varsity letters in football, baseball, basketball,
and track.
In 1941, he joined the U.S. Army and was once arrested by military
police for refusing to move to the back of a bus on account of his
race. In 1945, he received a medical discharge and began his
professional baseball career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the
Negro National League. That year, he was signed by Branch Rickey,
president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to play on the Montreal Royals, a
minor league affiliate of the Dodgers.
In 1946, he led the International League in batting average, and in
1947 he was brought up to play for Brooklyn. As the first African
American player in the major leagues since they were segregated in
the late 19th century, Robinson was subjected to constant racial
harassment from fans and players alike. He endured the taunts and
death threats stoically, however, and his flawless fielding at first
base, timely hitting, and 29 stolen bases helped the Dodgers capture
the National League pennant and won him the title Rookie of the
Year. Two years later, in 1949, he won the batting championship with
a .342 average and was voted the league's Most Valuable Player. |
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Robinson retired in 1956 with a career
batting average of .311. His success paved the way for other African
American players in the major leagues, and by 1959 all 16 clubs had at
least one African American player. Robinson was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 and died in 1972. |
