2 Flash Points
April 15, 1947
Fans crowd into Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New
York. ey are here to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play
the Boston Braves. People crane their necks to see the
players. ey are looking for Jackie Robinson. Hes the rst
African American to ever play for a Major League Baseball
(MLB) team. is is his rst game.
By the sixth inning, Robinson has not scored. He is not playing his
best. He is nervous. He knows that a lot of people dont want him to
play. Some of his teammates dont want him on the team. Many of the Braves
players dont want to play against him. ey yell at him. ey call him names.
Robinson knows that he cant fail. If he does, people will say that African
Americans dont belong in the major leagues. In the seventh inning, Robinson
scores the rst run of his MLB career. He helps the Dodgers win. is win
means more than just a baseball game.
It means progress toward integrating
Major League Baseball.
Jackie
Robinson
integrate: to stop keeping
people of dierent races apart
Stand Up!
Jackie Robinson was Rookie of the
Year in 1947. In that season, he had
a batting average of .297, with
home runs and runs batted in.
Did you know?
April of every year is Jackie Robinson
Day in the major leagues. Everyone on
the eld wears his old number:
An Unwelcoming Sport
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that
he considered baseball to be very important. It was
popular across the country. Watching baseball games
helped many Americans relax and have fun. At rst,
major league teams didnt want to accept African
American players. e organizations thought that
many white fans might stop supporting the sport.
From a Young Age
Robinson played a lot of
sports growing up. He was
always very good at them. At
UCLA, Robinson played four
sports at the varsity level.
He also played professional
football in Hawaii.
4 Flash Points
How and Why
Historical events rarely have only one simple cause. Many dierent
things such as certain events or changing ways of thinking work
together to shape the future. Below are some of the things that led
to Jackie Robinsons career in Major League Baseball.
Unfair Treatment
African Americans were treated very dierently
from white Americans. ere used to be many
laws that required segregation, separating
people based on their race. For example,
African Americans and white Americans
couldnt eat at the same restaurants, go to the
same schools, or use the same restrooms.
Negro Leagues
Before 1947, baseball
leagues were segregated.
Robinson played in a Negro
League. But there werent
any ocial rules that said
African Americans couldnt
play in the major leagues.
Integration Begins
Branch Rickey was the president of
the Brooklyn Dodgers. He wanted to
integrate the major leagues. Robinson
seemed perfect. First he put
Robinson on a minor league team,
and that went well. So Rickey decided
to move Robinson to the majors.
Stand Up!
6 Flash Points
What Happened Next
Many people were upset that Robinson joined
the majors. His team members were
upset, too. But the Dodgers manager
supported Robinson. He didnt listen
to Robinsons teammates. He said
he would rather trade them away
than Robinson. But the players
chose to remain on the team and
play with Robinson.
ere were many laws in the
United States that separated African
Americans from white people. Oen,
Robinson couldnt stay in hotels with his
teammates. Sometimes they couldnt eat in the
same restaurants.
But many people in the United States were very excited when Robinson
joined the Dodgers. Finally, an African American man was playing in
the majors. Many wanted to show their support. ey quickly became
fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Baseball was, and still is, the American pastime . Robinson was put in
the public spotlight when he joined the majors. At rst, some Dodgers
fans only saw the color of Robinsons skin. But as they watched him play
baseball, they nally started to see him as a person, and a skilled player.
Stand Up!
More fans than ever came to watch Jackie Robinson play
for the Brooklyn Dodgers. During the 1947 season, the team
broke attendance records at every stadium they played in.
Did you know?
Jackie Robinson was awarded
the Presidential Medal of
Freedom after his death.
pastime: an activity
that people enjoy
during their free time
Ripple Effects
A single event, no matter how big or small it may seem at the time,
can have a big impact on the future. Aer Jackie Robinson joined
the major leagues, many important changes took place in US sports.
Moving to
the Majors
At rst, African Americans
had not been welcomed
into the majors. Because of
this, the rst Negro League
was formed in 1920. Later,
after Jackie Robinson
joined the major leagues,
African American
athletes moved to the
majors instead.
A Larger Goal
Robinson continued to ght
against racism after he joined
the majors. He wrote letters to the
president. He marched in protests. He
helped open a bank that welcomed
African Americans. Robinson
wanted to integrate schools
and stop violence against
African Americans.
8 Flash Points
