When did jackie robinson join the mlb? Few players in the history of baseball did more for the sport than Jackie Robinson. And it began with a signature on a contract. On April 10, 1947, Robinson signed his first National League contract. Five days later, Robinson would make history by becoming the first African American to play in the AL/NL since Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884, breaking the color barrier in baseball.
Born in Cairo, Ga., Robinson was a standout athlete at UCLA where he lettered in four varsity sports – football, basketball, baseball, and track. After a brief military career post college, Robinson began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945. Following good numbers in Kansas City, Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey signed Robinson to a pro contract and sent him to Montreal, where he integrated the International League in 1946
“I need a player who has the guts not to fight back” said Rickey.
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made his MLB debut in front of 26,623 fans at Ebbets field. Robinson started at first base and went hitless, but reached base on an error in the seventh and scored the eventual go-ahead run in a victory against the Boston Braves. Days later, more than 50,000 people would come out to see Robinson play at the Polo Grounds, with other parks such as Wrigley Field having over-capacity crowds.
Robinson had a tough transition to the big leagues. Being harassed by fans and thrown at by opposing teams were just a few of his every day dilemmas he had to overcome. Some opposing teams threatened to strike if Robinson was allowed to keep playing, but National League President Ford Frick and Commissioner Happy Chandler had Robinson’s back, telling players they would be suspended if they took action.
Jackie Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 after batting .297 with 125 runs scored and a league-best 29 stolen bases for the Dodgers. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
Even with all the pandemonium surrounding Robinson, he managed to win the first ever Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 – and finished fifth in the MVP voting. In 151 games, Robinson had 12 home runs, 48 RBI, 175 hits, .297 average, and led the league with 29 stolen bases.
After 10 years as a Dodger, six of which resulted in a pennant for Brooklyn, Robinson decided to call it quits, making his final appearance on Oct. 10, 1956. The 1949 National League MVP finished his career with 947 runs, 734 RBI, 1,518 hits, and a .311 average.
Jackie Robinson Joins the Major Leagues
This day in history, on April 15th 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American in the major leagues when he plays his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born into a family of sharecroppers on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. He attended UCLA, where he became the first athlete to letter in four varsity sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. He served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1944 and was honorably discharged after facing insubordination charges for refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus.
After leaving the military, Robinson played shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League. In 1945, he was recruited by Dodgers president and general manager Branch Rickey, who was determined to end the unwritten segregation rule in the majors.
In 1946, Robinson joined the Dodgers’ farm team, the Montreal Royals, and went on to lead the league in batting. On April 15, 1947, 28-year-old Jackie Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut with the Dodgers, against the Boston Braves, in front of more than 25,000 spectators at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. Robinson played first base and went zero for three at the plate.
Jackie Robinson was not the first African American to win the World Series
While Jackie Robinson was the first African American to accomplish many feats in professional baseball, he was not the first to win the World Series.
That honor belongs to the great Larry Doby and Satchel Paige. The teammates won the championship with the Cleveland Indians in 1948, one year after Robinson’s iconic debut.
MLB teams honor Jackie Robinson 76 years after he broke the color barrier
Ebbets Field in Brooklyn was the location of one of the most impactful days in our history. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, and 76 years later, he’s still making his mark.
Saturday, he was honored as an American hero.
As has become tradition, every player and manager for every team wore Robinson’s number — 42. The number is in Dodger blue regardless of the team colors. All bases are stamped with the commemorative emblem. Their socks have Robinson’s number, and some players like Francisco Lindor of the Mets customized his cleats with
The Great Influence of Jackie Robinson
Most people, when they think of a very influential person in sports, will have a current, famous person pop into their mind. Most of the people in New England, would say Tom Brady. Yes, he does have outstanding achievements, yet he would not be considered one of the most influential people in sports. But Jackie Robinson, is one of the most influential sports players, having ended 60 years of racial segregation in the Major League Baseball. But he did not have an easy time getting to that point, and achieving the amazing things he did.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo Georgia. He was the youngest of five children. But when he was only six months old, his father, Jerry Robinson, left the family. His family moved in 1920, when he was 14 months old, to Pasadena, California. They had a hard time there, needing the help from a welfare agency to get a house, and having to deal with all of their racist neighbors.
Their neighbors petitioned to get them out of the neighborhood, and some even were willing to buy them out of the house. But Jackie Robinson’s talents began to show at an early age, and in high school, he played baseball, basketball, football, and track. But when he was in college at UCLA, baseball was probably his weakest sport. He had to drop out of college due to financial problems. He went to Hawaii to play football with the Honolulu Bears in 1941. In 1942 after coming back home, he was drafted into the army.
After his discharge from the army in 1945, he went to play with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League. During this point in time, Branch Ricky, had been looking at players in the Negro Leagues. Ricky was the president, general manager, and part-owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers; and the orchestrator of Organized Baseball Desegregation. He was scouring the Negro Leagues, looking for those talented enough for the Major League; and while Robinson may not have been the best, he looked like a very good choice.
In October of 1945, he signed a contract with the Montreal Royals International League, the top minor league of the Dodgers organization. He was making significant progress in the integration of baseball, but many MLB owners still refused to consider any colored players for their teams. They still wouldn’t, even though the pool of players had decreased due to players being injured in the war. But in November of 1944, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis passed away. He was thought to be one of the people preventing the integration, and Ricky was then able to integrate the Dodgers.
Once on the team, the racial segregation in the MLB began to come to an end. Jackie Robinson went on to win many different achievements. He was the first African American to win batting title, to win Most Valuable Player, and to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also the MLB’s first official Rookie of the Year, and the first baseball player, black or white, to be on a US postage stamp. Jackie Robinson changed the world for many African American baseball players. Due to him, baseball players of any ethnicity have an equal chance of making it in to the Major League.
Above is information when did jackie robinson join the mlb. Hopefully, through the above content, you have a more detailed understanding of when did jackie robinson join the mlb .Thank you for reading our post.
