Jackie Robinson
Timeline
-
1945
While Jackie was playing baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League in 1945, Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey was searching for a Black player with both talent and guts to join Major League Baseball, which at the time, unofficially banned Black players. There had not been a Black player in the major leagues since 1889.Rickey was looking for a player to integrate the MLB who would “turn the other cheek” when facing taunts, abuse, and threats. While Rickey was interviewing Jackie for the job in August 1945, Robinson reportedly asked, “Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?” Rickey is said to have replied that he was looking for someone “with guts enough not to fight back.”
-
1946
ackie got the job and played for the Dodgers’ farm team, the Royals, in 1946. He did so well that he was called up to the Dodgers the next season. -
1947
On April 15, 1947, Jackie made his National League debut as a first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Jackie was on the receiving end of taunts, slurs, death threats, and hate mail, and while traveling with the team, had to navigate segregation laws. But Jackie endured and earned the respect of supporters, friends, and teammates, such as Dodgers shortstop, Pee Wee Reese. -
1949-1955
Jackie’s talent spoke for itself. In his rookie season, Jackie hit 12 home runs, had a .297 batting average, led the league with 29 steals, and was named the National League Rookie of the Year. In 1949, he became the first Black player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award, was an All-Star every year from 1949-1954, and led the Brooklyn Dodgers to victory in the 1955 World Series against the New York Yankees.
-
1962
After winning the World Series, Jackie retired and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. As Roger Craig, Jackie’s former Dodger teammate said, “I think a lot of people think he got in the Hall of Fame because he was the first.” However, Jackie’s induction was not a recognition of his skin color, but of his talent. As Craig confirmed, “He was a great, great ballplayer. He could’ve done anything he wanted to.”
-
1997
To honor the barriers that Jackie broke down, in 1997, his number was retired by all big-league teams. Every April 15, the anniversary of Jackie’s first game in the Major Leagues, is now known as Jackie Robinson Day and all players and personnel wear his number 42 on their jerseys. Jackie is remembered in American History for his courage to stand up for equal opportunities for Black Americans.
