Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier: Baseball Unites
Jackie Robinson played his first Major League game on April 15, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, going 0-for-3 at the plate but reaching base on an error and scoring a run. Branch Rickey, the Dodgers' general manager, had spent two years searching for the right player: someone talented enough to succeed and disciplined enough to endure abuse without retaliating. Robinson faced racial slurs from opposing players and fans, death threats, a petition from some of his own teammates, and the Philadelphia Phillies' manager shouting racial epithets from the dugout. Robinson batted .297 his rookie year, stole 29 bases, and won the first Rookie of the Year Award. Every MLB team now retires his number 42 on April 15 each year.
April 15, 1947
79 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on April 15
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Thousands of starving peasants and hidden Christians held out for months inside Hara Castle. When the Tokugawa forces finally stormed the walls, they didn't jus…
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