42 Forever: Jackie Robinson and Breaking the Color Barrier in Brooklyn
This blog was written by Lott House volunteer and contributor, Jack Campbell. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made civil rights history on a baseball diamond just over four miles from the Lott House. When Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, he became the first Black player in the history of Major League Baseball. The sport had been segregated since the late 1800s, and the team President, Branch Rickey, chose Robinson to break the color barrier. He would face racist abuse throughout the season but faced it with dignity, instead showing that he and his fellow African Americans belonged through his play on the field. In fact, Robinson played so well that he was named the first-ever Rookie of the Year, an award in Major League Baseball that now bears his name.
In 1945, Robinson played shortstop for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs. Image courtesy of Digital Public Library of America.
Born on January 31, 1919, Robinson grew up in Pasadena, California. A talented athlete, he excelled in multiple sports at UCLA, with some arguing that baseball was not even his best sport. Nonetheless, he went professional in the game, playing primarily for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs. He quickly established himself as one of the league's biggest stars, noted especially for his lightning speed and incredible bat at the plate.
While Robinson was playing for the Monarchs, Dodgers team President Branch Rickey, a former major leaguer himself and a longtime innovator in the game as an executive, was plotting to do what was considered unthinkable: sign a black ballplayer to play for the Dodgers. There had been an unwritten "gentleman's agreement" among the league owners that segregated the league, a racist policy that was strictly followed. Even those who wanted to sign a Black player were ensured by MLB commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a strict segregationist, would block their efforts. But when Landis died, Rickey saw his opening.
Rickey was in charge of the Brooklyn Dodgers, historically one of the worst teams in baseball but one on the brink of great success with a great core of players. Playing their games at Ebbets Field at 55 Sullivan Place in Flatbush, just a few miles from the Lott House, the Dodgers had talent in the major and minor leagues. But Rickey saw an opportunity that he could not resist. He instructed his scouts to find him the best talent that the Negro Leagues had to offer, with special instructions to keep the search quiet and to go beyond just talent. The players were to be judged on character, age, and temperament, as Rickey knew what they had waiting for them in Major League parks and cities.
Rickey rejected players for many reasons; some were too old and past their prime. Some athletes were denied because Rickey felt they were too nice or soft and would crumble under the pressure. Some were just not considered good enough. What set Robinson apart was his talent, youth, and emotional strength. He had faced racist abuse throughout his life, including a notable event during his military service when he refused to move to the back of a military bus. Robinson was a strong-willed man of principle, which was precisely what Rickey was looking for.
Rickey had one rule for Robinson, though: he could not fight back with his fists or with his words. He knew that any action would make Robinson look like the bad guy, no matter how justified he was. He was famously looking for a man with the courage not to fight back. So, Robinson signed with the Dodgers in 1946, spent a year in the minors, and then took the field at Ebbets Field. It was a civil rights moment, a baseball moment, and a historical moment. Robinson changed not only baseball, but American society, for good and for the better.
Jackie Robinson slid into home in 1956. Image courtesy of the George Sillk The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Robinson would do what Rickey hoped: succeed on and off the field. He quickly became a star, winning Rookie of the Year, an MVP in 1949, and a World Series Championship, the only one in Brooklyn Dodgers history, in 1955. He took the abuse with dignity, resisting the urge to fight back. Robinson faced attacks from opposing players on the field; base runners deliberately stepped on him as they ran by, balls thrown at him by the opposing team's pitchers, and racist epithets from the stands and the opposing dugouts.
Even some of his teammates would cause tension for Robinson, as many were deeply uncomfortable with the idea of playing with a Black ballplayer. Rickey promised that his time would come, and it did, as Robinson was finally allowed to respond a few years into his tenure. By then, players had no choice but to accept that Robinson and his fellow African Americans were here to stay.
Robinson paved the way for future African Americans in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers had stars like Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, and Jim Gilliam join Robinson. Campanella joined the team in 1948, a year after Robinson's debut, Newcombe in 1949, and Gilliam in 1953. Other stars of the period included legends such as Larry Doby, the first player in American League history (the Dodgers played in the adjacent National League), future all-time home run leader Hank Aaron, and arguably the greatest all-around player in baseball history, Willie Mays. Without Robinson, the league would have robbed themselves of these greats due to racist ignorance.
Robinson would spend the rest of his life dedicated to civil rights, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, and encouraging black athletes to use their platforms for good. In 1962, Robinson was the first African American inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He would pass away on October 24, 1972, due to complications from diabetes, but his legacy lives on. Every April 15, Major League Baseball honors him on "Jackie Robinson Day," all players wear his iconic number 42. It is the only number that is retired throughout Major League Baseball.
Former baseball star Jackie Robinson grabbed a sign and joined a picket line in Cleveland, Ohio, to protest discrimination against blacks at southern lunch counters, 1960. The picketing was organized by the NAACP. Image courtesy of AP.
The Dodgers would leave Brooklyn after the 1957 season and move to Los Angeles due to disputes with Parks Commissioner Robert Moses over the ability to build a new stadium. However, while the spot where Ebbets Field once stood now houses public housing apartments, the legacy of the Dodgers is still felt. The New York Mets' Citi Field in Queens is modeled after Ebbets Field and houses a rotunda dedicated to Jackie Robinson. A statue of Robinson and his fellow Hall of Fame teammate Pee Wee Reese also stands outside the Coney Island home of the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league affiliate of the Mets.
Jackie Robinson is one of the most important athletes in American history. He was a civil rights icon who stood up for what was right and played the game the right way. He was a Hall of Fame talent who accomplished so much on the field—and he did so right here in Brooklyn.
Bibliography
California Community Colleges. “Jackie Robinson.” Notable Alumni. https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/Notable-Alumni/Jackie-Robinson
Library of Congress. “Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson.” By Popular Demand: Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s. https://www.loc.gov/collections/jackie-robinson-baseball/articles-and-essays/baseball-the-color-line-and-jackie-robinson/
Major League Baseball. “The Story of Jackie Robinson.” Stories. https://www.mlb.com/stories/jackie-robinson-timeline-career-highlights
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Branch Rickey.” Hall of Famers. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/rickey-branch
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Jackie Robinson.” Hall of Famers. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/robinson-jackie
Swaine, Rick. “Jackie Robinson.” Society for American Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jackie-robinson/
About Jack Campbell
Jack Campbell is a historian and researcher. A 2021 graduate of Manhattan College with a B.A. in History, Jack’s research area of specialty is American history, with a particular focus on the American Revolution and the sport of baseball. He is a volunteer at the Hendrick I. Lott House and published in the Journal of the American Revolution. To read more from Jack click here.
