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Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African American player in Major League Baseball when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years.

What was so special about Jackie Robinson?

He had the guts not to fight back to his attackers. He set the bar for those to see what kind of man he was. I wish I had the chance to see him play and to know who he was. Robinson was a Hero, didn’t matter what color of his skin was, he was simply a Hero to many and He was the fire of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Exactly 50 years later, on April 15, 1997, Robinson’s groundbreaking career was honored and his uniform number, 42, was retired from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig in a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City’s Shea Stadium. Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired by all teams in the league.

Who was Robinson?

He was a conservative family-oriented person who’s self worth was built on his strength to not fight back and lower himself to the same level his attackers were when they would spill hatred at him with racist abuse. He was a mentor and he proved that anyone can play ball and hit it out of the park both literally and mentally. He was the foundation and the major stepping stone of removing Racism in the world as we know it.

The Valor that Jackie Robinson responded to the jeers and the hatred of the bigoted remarks of the cat calls was one of the of the greatest silent portraits in all of American History.

He set the bar for what a true inspiration is.