Jackie Robinson

On April 15, 1947, spectators at Ebbets Field — then home to the Brooklyn Dodgers — witnessed history in the making. Among the ranks of the Dodgers was a 28-year-old rookie named Jackie Robinson, the first Black baseball player to play in the American major leagues. When Robinson stepped out onto Ebbets Field that day, he broke baseball’s “color line,” the long-existing but unofficial form of racial segregation that excluded players of Black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated minor leagues. It was a historic day, but Robinson wasn’t there just to break racial barriers — he was there to win. That same year, Robinson led the league in stolen bases and was named Rookie of the Year. Just two years later, he was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. He went on to lead the Dodgers to six league championships and one World Series victory. As legendary manager Leo Durocher once said, “This guy didn’t just come to play. This guy comes to beat you.” Robinson, however, was up against more than just the opposing team. He had to overcome racist abuse from opposing players, spectators and, initially, from his own teammates. Robinson’s experience with discrimination — combined with his resolute nature and rising status in baseball — drove him to become an important voice in the civil rights movement. He made appearances with Martin Luther King Jr., and politician and civil rights activist John Lewis said Robinson “gave the Black community a sense of hope, a sense of pride.” Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 and, after his death in 1972, was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also left us with many wise and inspiring quotes, whether talking about baseball, personal integrity, or the ongoing pursuit of a free and just society.