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 that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. Established in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the team joined the NL in 1890 as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and used several other monikers before finally settling on the name Dodgers in 1932. From the 1940s through the mid-1950s, the Dodgers developed a fierce crosstown rivalry with the New York Yankees as the two clubs faced each other in the World Series seven times, with the Dodgers losing the first five matchups before defeating them to win the franchise's first title in 1955. It was also during this period that the Dodgers made history by breaking the baseball color line in 1947 with the debut of Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in the Major Leagues since 1884. Another major milestone was reached in 1956 when Don Newcombe became the first player ever to win both the Cy Young Award and the NL MVP in the same season.
Roy Campanella, nicknamed "Campy", was an American professional baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering the minor leagues in 1946. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 1948 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, for whom he played until 1957. His playing career ended when he was paralyzed in an automobile accident in January of 1958. He is considered one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game.
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the ballpark for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of US$23 million. It is the oldest ballpark in MLB west of the Mississippi River, and third-oldest overall, after Fenway Park in Boston (1912) and Wrigley Field in Chicago (1914), and is the largest baseball stadium in the world by seat capacity. Often referred to as a "pitcher's ballpark", the stadium has seen 13 no-hitters, 2 of which were perfect games.
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Reese is also famous for his support of his teammate Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the major leagues' modern era, especially in Robinson's difficult first years, most notably when he put his arm around Robinson during a pre-game warmup in front of a heckling crowd.
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pioneering African-American player Jackie Robinson was a member for the 1946 season. The 1946 Royals were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.
Alexander Sebastian Campanis was an American executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He had a brief major league playing career, as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943; he was the first Greek player in MLB history. Campanis is most famous for his position as general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1968 to 1987, from which he was fired on April 8, 1987, as a result of controversial remarks regarding black people in baseball made during an interview on Nightline two days earlier.
The Jackie Robinson Ballpark is a historic baseball field in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 105 East Orange Avenue on City Island, in the Halifax River.
Ralph Theodore Joseph Branca, nicknamed "Hawk", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1944 through 1956. Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Tigers (1953–1954), and New York Yankees (1954). He was a three-time All-Star. In a 1951 playoff, Branca surrendered a walk-off home run to Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants; the game-winning hit was known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World".
Kenneth Stanley Washington was an American professional football player who was the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League (NFL) team in the modern era. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins.
George Thomas Shuba was an American professional baseball utility outfielder and left-handed pinch hitter in Major League Baseball who played seven seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His seven seasons included three World Series as well as a World Series championship in 1955. He was the first National League player to hit a pinch-hit home run in a World Series game.
Jackie Robinson Stadium is a college baseball park in Los Angeles, California. It is the home field of the UCLA Bruins of the Big Ten Conference. Opened 43 years ago in 1981, it is the smallest ballpark in the conference, with a seating capacity of 1,820. It is named after former Bruin athlete Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era.
Homer Elliot "Dixie" Howell was an American professional baseball catcher. He appeared in eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1947 and 1956 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers.
On April 15, Jackie Robinson was the opening day first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Robinson went on to bat .297, score 125 runs, steal 29 bases and win Major League Baseball's inaugural Rookie of the Year award. The Dodgers won the National League title and went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series. This season was dramatized in the movie 42.
The 1947 Major League Baseball season, was contested from April 15 through October 6, 1947. The American League and National League both featured eight teams, with each team playing a 154-game schedule. The World Series was contested between the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in seven games, capturing the 11th championship in franchise history.
Wid Curry Matthews was an American outfielder, scout and front office executive in Major League Baseball. Matthews served as general manager of the Chicago Cubs for seven full seasons and became one of the first front-office employees in the history of the New York Mets in 1961, the year before they began play in the National League. A native of Raleigh, Illinois, Matthews stood 5 ft, 81⁄2 in (174 cm) tall and weighed 155 pounds (70 kg) in his playing days. He threw and batted left-handed.
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.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays, next year in 1884 becoming a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, California, where it continues its history as the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the New York Giants, moved to San Francisco in northern California as the San Francisco Giants.
The Statue of Jackie Robinson in Jersey City, New Jersey is located at Journal Square at the entrance to the Journal Square Transportation Center.
The Sandy Koufax Monument was unveiled outside the centerfield plaze entrance of Dodger Stadium on June 18, 2022. The bronze statue, created by sculptor Branly Cadet, commemorates Dodgers and baseball great Sandy Koufax.
