April 15, 1947
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball by playing his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play in the majors in the modern era.
Brooklyn, United States | Brooklyn Dodgers
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made history by playing his first Major League Baseball (MLB) game with the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. This event marked the end of racial segregation in professional baseball’s major leagues, a segregation which had relegated African American players to the Negro leagues for the first half of the 20th century.
Prior to Robinson’s debut, African American players were systematically excluded from MLB, a norm that reinforced racial segregation in the United States. Efforts to integrate baseball had been long and difficult, often met with resistance from within the leagues and from society at large. Robinson’s signing was part of Branch Rickey’s, the Dodgers’ general manager, bold experiment to break baseball’s color line, which had been maintained since the 1880s.
On April 15th, Jackie Robinson took the field for the Dodgers as a first baseman. The game attracted a crowd of 26,623 spectators, more than half of whom were African American, eager to witness this groundbreaking moment. Robinson did not record a hit, going 0-for-3, but he reached base on an error in the seventh inning and later scored a key run in the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves.
Robinson’s debut was a significant event not only in sports history but also in the broader civil rights movement in America. By breaking through the racial barrier in baseball, Robinson paved the way for other African American athletes to follow, contributing to the desegregation in other areas of American life. His courage and professionalism in the face of immense pressure and discrimination earned him widespread respect and eventually led to increased opportunities and equality for African Americans.
Jackie Robinson’s successful integration into Major League Baseball would lead to him winning the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947. His achievements and influence on the game and society were recognized posthumously with various honors, including the retirement of his uniform number, 42, across all MLB teams in 1997. April 15th is celebrated annually in baseball as Jackie Robinson Day, where all players wear number 42 to commemorate his contributions.
Source: en.wikipedia.org