42

Today is Jackie Robinson Day- the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sixty years ago there were separate schools for blacks and whites, separate restaurants, separate hotels, separate drinking fountains and separate baseball leagues. Although Jackie Robinson was not the first African-American MLB player (the league was officially segregated in 1889), he is celebrated for breaking baseball's "color barrier" and paving the way for black athletes in all U.S. pro-sports.

Dodgers executive Branch Rickey chose Robinson to break the color barrier because he believed he was mature enough and tough enough to survive and thrive. When Robinson played his first baseball game with the Dodgers, Ebbets Field had signs denoting entrances: Whites inside only" and "Coloreds entrance". Robinson was subjected to all manner of racism. His teammates drafted a petition to keep him off the ball club, opposing pitchers purposely threw at him, bench jockeys hollered for him to carry their bags and shine their shoes, "fans" mocked him with mops on their heads and wrote him death threats. Robinson has been quoted as saying:

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me . . . All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

Today MLB is honoring Jackie Robinson. At least one player from each team is wearing the number '42', although some baseball teams have elected to outfit the entire roster in '42'.


Source: Time