III.

Baseball Career

Although Robinson may have had even greater potential in other sports, the best place for black athletes to earn a living in the 1940s was baseball. Robinson began his professional career in 1945 with the Kansas City Monarchs, one of the leading teams of the Negro Leagues. A standout player, he was then recruited and signed by Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers). Rickey was a baseball innovator who had decided to challenge the league’s whites-only color barrier. He assigned Robinson to the minor league Montréal Royals for the 1946 season.

Robinson was a star in Montréal and after one season he was called up to the big leagues. When he made his Brooklyn debut on April 15, 1947, Robinson became the first black player to compete in the major leagues in the 20th century. (Several black players played on professional teams in the 19th century before club owners agreed to an informal ban on signing such players.)

Breaking baseball’s color barrier was a serious challenge, and Robinson met fierce resistance from many players and fans. Warned by Rickey not to acknowledge insults or retaliate in any way, Robinson endured malicious taunts and racial slurs shouted from the stands and opposing dugouts. Some teams even talked about boycotting their games with the Dodgers, although none did.

Some rival players went beyond verbal abuse in an effort to intimidate Robinson. They threw pitches at his head, spat on him when he slid into a base, and attempted to injure him with the spikes on their shoes. Robinson also received anonymous death threats that warned him not to play or he would face bodily harm.

With the support of Rickey and the encouragement of his teammates, the determined Robinson weathered these attacks. Through all the adversity he hit .297 and led the National League (NL) with 29 stolen bases. The Dodgers won the 1947 NL pennant and Robinson was named the rookie of the year in the major leagues. The award was later renamed in his honor.

Robinson became known for his graceful fielding, timely hitting, and aggressive base running. Over his ten major league seasons he executed one of baseball’s rarest and most exciting plays—stealing home—19 times. In 1949 Robinson was voted the NL’s most valuable player (MVP) after he produced a .342 batting average with 37 steals and 124 runs batted in. His skill and dramatic flair increased Brooklyn’s attendance and helped make the club one of the best teams in baseball. The Dodgers played in six World Series during Robinson’s ten seasons and in 1955 finally won their first championship title.

Robinson’s success with the Dodgers opened the way for other black players to sign major league contracts. Not until 1959, however, did all 16 major league clubs have at least one black ballplayer on their roster. At the same time, Robinson had a similar influence on other professional sports and on racial attitudes in workplaces and communities across the country.