Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in 1920 that are sometimes termed "Negro Major Leagues".
Frank Robinson, nicknamed "The Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–1965), Baltimore Orioles (1966–1971), Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973–1974), and Cleveland Indians (1974–1976). In 1975, Robinson became the first Black manager in big-league history, as the player-manager of the Indians.
Lawrence Eugene Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player in the American League. A native of Camden, South Carolina, and three-sport all-state athlete while in high school in Paterson, New Jersey, Doby accepted a basketball scholarship from Long Island University. At 17 years of age, he began his professional baseball career with the Newark Eagles as the team's second baseman. Doby joined the United States Navy during World War II. His military service complete, Doby returned to baseball in 1946, and along with teammate Monte Irvin, helped the Eagles win the Negro League World Series.
Joshua Gibson was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin was an American left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles, New York Giants (1949–1955) and Chicago Cubs (1956). He grew up in New Jersey and was a standout football player at Lincoln University. Irvin left Lincoln to spend several seasons in Negro league baseball. His career was interrupted by military service from 1943 to 1945.
Willard Jessie Brown was an American baseball player who played as an outfielder in the Negro Leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns, where he was one of the league's very first African American players. Often called "Home Run" Brown for making history as the first Black ballplayer to hit a home run in the American League, Brown's other nicknames included "Sonny," due to his preference for crowded Sunday games, and "Ese Hombre", due to his offensive dominance playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League.
John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. was an American first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In his later years he became a popular and renowned speaker and interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 as an executive.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is a privately funded museum dedicated to preserving the history of Negro league baseball in America. It was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri, in the historic 18th & Vine District, the hub of African-American cultural activity in Kansas City during the first half of the 20th century. The NLBM shares its building with the American Jazz Museum.
Frank White Jr. is an American politician and former professional baseball player, coach, and television sports commentator who is currently the first base coach for the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He played his entire eighteen-year career in Major League Baseball as a second baseman for the Kansas City Royals from 1973 to 1990 and was an integral member of the 1985 World Series winning team.
In baseball, the uniform number is a number worn on the uniform of each player and coach. Numbers are used for the purpose of easily identifying each person on the field as no two people from the same team can wear the same number. Although designed for identification purposes only, numbers have become the source of superstition, emotional attachment, and honor. In Major League Baseball, player and manager numbers are always located on the back of the jersey. A smaller number is often found on the front of the jersey, while umpires wear their numbers on the uniform shirt sleeve.
Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually on April 15 in Major League Baseball (MLB), commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Celebrated at MLB ballparks, on that one day, all players, coaches, and managers on both teams, and the umpires, wear Robinson's uniform number, 42. April 15 was Opening Day in 1947, Robinson's first season in the major leagues.
Eric Orlando Young Jr. is an American professional baseball former outfielder and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Angels. He was the National League stolen base leader in 2013.
The golden age of baseball, or sometimes the golden era, describes the period in Major League Baseball from the end of the dead-ball era until the modern era—roughly, from 1920 to sometime after World War II.
Frank Lee Duncan Jr was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues from 1920 to 1948. He was primarily a catcher for the Kansas City Monarchs, handling their pitching staff for over a decade. While playing part-time, he managed the Monarchs to two pennants in 1942 and 1946; he managed the Monarchs for the longest of all managers in team history with six and he won 281 games as skipper, a club record. He caught two no-hitters with the Monarchs, in 1923 and 1929.
McAdams Park, formerly McKinley Park, is a city park, baseball field, and swimming pool built in 1901 and located at 1329 E. 13th Street in Wichita, Kansas, United States.
The Legacy Awards are presented annually by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The "Hall of Game Award"—established in 2014 and honoring players who personify "the spirit of the way the game was played in the Negro Leagues"—is the only such award actively presented since 2018.
42 is a 2013 American biographical sports film written and directed by Brian Helgeland. The plot follows baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first black athlete to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the modern era. The title of the film is a reference to Robinson's jersey number, which was universally retired across all MLB teams in 1997. The ensemble cast includes Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, alongside Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, André Holland, Lucas Black, Hamish Linklater, and Ryan Merriman in supporting roles.
The original Majestic Park was one of the first Major League Baseball spring training facilities. The ballpark was located at the corner of Belding Street and Carson Street in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Today, the site is in use by Champion Christian College, National Park College, and travel/tournament baseball and softball. Majestic Park has been renovated by the City of Hot Springs. Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron are among the many who have played at the site.
