Posted: 04/18/07

The Week in Sports History
The legend, Jackie Robinson

David Walsh | contributing columnist
dwalsh2@smcvt.edu

At the beginning of every baseball season, Major League Baseball pays homage to not only a great athlete, but an amazing person, Jackie Robinson. This season marks the 60 th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier in the major leagues. This issue’s “The Week in Sports History” is dedicated to Robinson’s remarkable and awe-inspiring life.

April 15, 1947 — Robinson, at the age of 28, became the first African American to play in a MLB game. He played first base and hit second in the order his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.

Robinson went hitless against Boston Braves pitcher Johnny Sain, but scored the winning run in a Dodgers 5-3 victory.

Despite constant harassment and threats, Robinson went on to have a stellar career, winning the first ever Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 and the Most Valuable Player award two years later. He and the Dodgers won the World Series in 1955. At the age of 37, Robinson retired before the ’56 season. In 1962, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, Robinson’s accomplishments extend far beyond the realm of baseball.

His participation in the major leagues was a social accomplishment, as he became the first African American athlete to truly bridge the racial gap in the world of sports, which at the time was controlled by white men. Robinson made his way through much adversity to become one of the most notable players in baseball history for both his athleticism and perseverance.

Before and after baseball ended, Robinson became heavily involved in the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement. From 1942-1944, he served in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant, but was honorably discharged when he bravely refused to submit to the Jim Crow laws that were in place in American society.