Jackie Robinson, 1947
The debut that changed baseball for good. On 15 April 1947 Jackie Robinson played first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ending Major League Baseball's colour line and becoming Rookie of the Year.
Jackie Robinson, 1954: Photo by Bob Sandberg, Look photographer Restoration by Adam Cuerden, Public domain
A four-sport star
Jackie Robinson grew up in Pasadena, California, and at UCLA he became the first student to letter in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1945 he played shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, where Black players had built their own excellent leagues because the major leagues kept them out.
Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, wanted to sign a Black player and believed Robinson had the talent and the self-control to handle what would come. Robinson spent 1946 with the Montreal Royals, Brooklyn's top minor league team, and led the league in batting average.
Sport ran in the family. His older brother Mack won a silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1936 Olympics.
Opening Day, 1947
On 15 April 1947, Robinson started at first base for the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He faced insults from opposing players and fans, threats in the mail and pitchers throwing at him. Rickey had asked him not to respond in anger for at least his first seasons, and Robinson answered on the field instead.
He hit .297, led the National League in stolen bases and was named the first ever Rookie of the Year. Teammates such as shortstop Pee Wee Reese stood by him publicly, and attendance soared wherever Brooklyn played.
He was already 28. For decades the major leagues had shut out Black stars such as Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, whose talent was never in doubt.
A great career
In 1949 Robinson won the National League MVP award after batting .342. His daring base running, including stealing home 19 times in his career, made him one of the most exciting players in the game. He played in six World Series and helped Brooklyn win its first title in 1955.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year on the ballot.
Number 42
In 1997, fifty years after his debut, Major League Baseball retired his number 42 for every team. Since 2009, every player in the majors wears 42 on Jackie Robinson Day, 15 April. His first was not just a sports milestone. It opened the door for generations of players and showed how one person's courage can change an entire game.
His wife Rachel Robinson founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation in 1973, which gives college scholarships to students to this day.
- Jackie Robinson, 1954: Photo by Bob Sandberg, Look photographer Restoration by Adam Cuerden, Public domain
- With the Kansas City Monarchs: Kansas City Call newspaper (first publication), Public domain
Text written by Shining Champion.
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