Breaking the Color Barrier
Jackie Robinson's first MLB game was on April 15, 1947 as the starting first baseman. That day he broke the color barrier. Some of his Dodger teammates didn't want to play with him and they would rather sit out. The St. Louis Cardinals, threatened to have a strike if Robinson played. The MLB president and the commissioner notified the players the if they had a strike they will be suspended. Robinson became a target for dirty players that would throw the ball at him on purpose. One time he received a seven-inch gash on his leg from Enos Slaughter. Other teams that didn't like Robinson would call him a the "n" word and say racial stereotypes like "Go back to the cotton field."
Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." In 1948, Reese put his arm around Robinson in response to fans who shouted racial slurs at Robinson before a game in Cincinnati. A statue by sculptor William Behrends, unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, 2005, commemorates this event by representing Reese with his arm around Robinson.
Robinson finished the season having played in 151 games for the Dodgers, with a batting average of .297. He had 175 hits (scoring 125 runs) including 31 doubles, 5 triples, 12 home runs, driving in 48 runs for the year. Robinson led the league in stolen bases, with 29. His amazing debut got him an MLB Rookie of The Year Award in 1947.
In his later years Jackie Robinson has been a National League MVP, a Six-time All-Star, a Two-time National League Stolen Bases Champion, a National League Batting Champion, got his number (42) retired, not only by his team but all of the teams in the MLB, won a World Series title in 1955 and got inducted to the MLB hall of Fame in 1962. He played in the MLB for nine years (1947-1956) and it is remarkable on how much he had accomplish. He had accomplish not only in his athletics, but on racial segregation and breaking the color barrier of the MLB. Today African-Americans have rights and responsibilities with the sport they choose.
"There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free."
– Jackie Robinson