July 23, 1962

Jet, July 26, 2004

Jackie Robinson, the first Black player to break the color barrier in professional baseball, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on this day. Robinson first played with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He signed his historic contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers oil October 23, 1945.

Robinson played all 10 years of his major league career with the Dodgers, had a .311 batting average and was the catalyst for Brooklyn pennant victories in 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1956. Robinson was born in Cairo, GA, in 1919. He starred in football, baseball, basketball and track at the University of California at Los Angeles and was the first athlete in the history of UCLA to letter in all four sports in the same year. Robinson played with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League and the Montreal Royals in the minors before he joined the Dodgers. He died in 1972 at age 53. In 1999, Robinson was honored with a commemorative stamp. Major League Baseball continues to honor his legacy by making every April 15 Jackie Robinson Day.