Good morning, it’s Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Seventy-four years ago today, the Brooklyn Dodgers finished the preseason by completing a three-game exhibition series with the New York Yankees. The history books say that baseball’s color barrier was broken on April 15, 1947 opening day. But for the man who broke it, Jack Roosevelt Robinson, it began four days earlier, on April 11, in the first of the Dodgers’ exhibition games against the Yanks.
I’ll explain in a moment. First, though, a personal note: I’m taking some time off during the next two weeks. You’ll still receive an email each morning touting RCP’s original material, but it won’t include my daily history homily, which I said at the beginning of the year I was getting away from. As many of you have noticed, I’ve had trouble giving it up. Maybe this time off will help. And with that, I’d point you to RCP’s front page, which presents our poll averages, videos, breaking news stories, and aggregated opinion
Jackie Robinson
Photo Credit: Jackie Robinson Foundation
Jack Roosevelt Robinson said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Robinson’s impact on baseball, and society was monumental.
On April 15, 1947, Robinson became the first Black man in the 20th century to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to Robinson’s courageous move, Black baseball players were segregated in the Negro Leagues. Their accomplishments and athletic abilities were not recognized in white society.
Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother moved her five children to California to escape segregation but racism soon followed. The Robinsons were the only Black family in a predominantly white neighbourhood.