Jackie Robinson

First African American in the MLB

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was an American professional baseball second baseman who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers, by signing Robinson, heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to their own league since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.