The start of African Americans playing baseball broke many barriers for the race, not only in sports, but also in society. The desegregation of baseball helped lead to the desegregation of society as a whole. This broken barrier paved the way for many opportunities for African Americans. In 1947, Jackie Robinson made history by doing what no other African American had ever done. Major League Baseball started in 1867, and until the 1940s, only Caucasians were allowed to play. From 1947 to 1959, the MLB had slowly but surely started to shed its biased opinion on the rights that blacks had on playing baseball. (Cite).
Blacks were never completely banned from the Major Leagues, but it was implied that they couldnt not play. The way to get into …show more content…
Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case in the Supreme Court, baseball was leading the nation in the desegregation of society. One figure who helped lead baseball into desegregation was Wendell Smith, an African American sportswriter at the time. In 1946, Wendell Smith recommended Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodger’s coach, Branch Rickey, as a new addition to the team. Branch Rickey understood the influence that sports had over the American people and saw the importance of the integration of African Americans in Major League Baseball. Due to his views on the integration of African American athletes in baseball, Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The signing of Jackie Robinson marked the first time that an African American played Major League Baseball. Jackie started off playing the role of first baseman and then later moved on to play second baseman. Throughout Jackie Robinson’s career, he had earned many awards including: six time All-Star recipient, Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year in 1947, and two time National League stolen base leader. Mr. Robinson was later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in …show more content…
One team being the Cleveland Indians; they signed Larry Doby to their team. Larry Doby played as a center fielder and later went on to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. By the end of Mr. Doby’s professional baseball career, he ended up hitting a total of two hundred fifty-three home runs. Additionally, in 1947, the Saint Louis Browns signed Hank Thompson as a right fielder. Mr. Thompson later went on to win a World Series Championship with the New York Giants in 1954. Willie Mays was a centerfielder. He played a twenty-two season career and spent most of that career playing for the New York and San Francisco Giants. He ended his career playing for the New York Mets. Willie Mays was a 24 time recipient of Major League Baseball All-Star along with several other important awards. Mr. Mays was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. In 1954, Hank Aaron made his first appearance in Major League Baseball as a Milwaukee Brave playing in right field. Mr. Aaron was with the Brave’s until 1974 and moved to the Milwaukee Brewers. Hank Aaron was a twenty-five time Major League baseball All-Star and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Mr. Hank Aaron was also the very first baseball player to break Babe Ruth’s homerun record of seven hundred and fourteen, with a total of seven
Blacks were never completely banned from the Major Leagues, but it was implied that they couldnt not play. The way to get into …show more content…
Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case in the Supreme Court, baseball was leading the nation in the desegregation of society. One figure who helped lead baseball into desegregation was Wendell Smith, an African American sportswriter at the time. In 1946, Wendell Smith recommended Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodger’s coach, Branch Rickey, as a new addition to the team. Branch Rickey understood the influence that sports had over the American people and saw the importance of the integration of African Americans in Major League Baseball. Due to his views on the integration of African American athletes in baseball, Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The signing of Jackie Robinson marked the first time that an African American played Major League Baseball. Jackie started off playing the role of first baseman and then later moved on to play second baseman. Throughout Jackie Robinson’s career, he had earned many awards including: six time All-Star recipient, Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year in 1947, and two time National League stolen base leader. Mr. Robinson was later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in …show more content…
One team being the Cleveland Indians; they signed Larry Doby to their team. Larry Doby played as a center fielder and later went on to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. By the end of Mr. Doby’s professional baseball career, he ended up hitting a total of two hundred fifty-three home runs. Additionally, in 1947, the Saint Louis Browns signed Hank Thompson as a right fielder. Mr. Thompson later went on to win a World Series Championship with the New York Giants in 1954. Willie Mays was a centerfielder. He played a twenty-two season career and spent most of that career playing for the New York and San Francisco Giants. He ended his career playing for the New York Mets. Willie Mays was a 24 time recipient of Major League Baseball All-Star along with several other important awards. Mr. Mays was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. In 1954, Hank Aaron made his first appearance in Major League Baseball as a Milwaukee Brave playing in right field. Mr. Aaron was with the Brave’s until 1974 and moved to the Milwaukee Brewers. Hank Aaron was a twenty-five time Major League baseball All-Star and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Mr. Hank Aaron was also the very first baseball player to break Babe Ruth’s homerun record of seven hundred and fourteen, with a total of seven