How Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line

Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball concern Robinson becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era, breaking its color line in 1947. The lessons answer how he broke that line and help readers understand the choices and challenges involved. They follow the transition from recruitment to the major leagues.

2 articles, 1 book · about 1 hr 19 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball · Wikipedia · 60+ min read

   In the integration of baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers club president and general manager Branch Rickey began scouting the Negro leagues in the mid-1940s for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players and interviewed him for possible assignment to the Dodgers' International League farm club, the Montreal Royals. Jackie Robinson arrived in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1946 for spring training with the Montreal Royals. Unable to stay with his white teammates at the team hotel in racially segregated Florida, Robinson lodged with Joe and Dufferin Harris, who introduced the Robinsons to civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. Jackie Robinson's major league debut in the integration of baseball came on April 15, 1947, at Ebbets Field before 26,623 spectators, more than 14,000 of whom were black. Although he failed to get a base hit, Robinson reached second on a throwing error and scored the winning run in the Dodgers' 5 to 3 victory.

2. Read
   

   Jackie Robinson Was More Than Just a Pioneer · Literary Hub · 8 min read

   While Jackie Robinson played second base for the Kansas City Monarchs, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey was thinking about how to bring African Americans into the major leagues. Before taking action, Rickey sought advice from black leaders about what kind of player to recruit and how to manage the transition. Jackie Robinson, whose integration of baseball followed a season with the Montreal Royals in 1946, was spectacular there and made the Brooklyn Dodgers' big team out of spring training in Havana the following year. Branch Rickey said his purpose was "to be fair to all people," while his "selfish objective" was "to win baseball games."

3. Book
   

   Baseball's great experiment · Bookshop.org

   Baseball's Great Experiment by Jules Tygiel examines the social and historical context of Robinson's introduction into white organized baseball, on and off the field, and tells the often neglected stories of other African-American players who helped transform the game. Drawing on interviews, newspaper accounts, and personal papers, Tygiel describes Robinson's influence on baseball and society.

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