The Integration of Baseball
Jackie Robinson
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.” Jackie 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.
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. He led the Dodgers to many victories and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Key Point
Jackie Robinson’s courage changed the course of history and today, his legacy still lives on.
