Robinson’s dazzling athletic prowess and grace under pressure effectively led to the integration of the Major Leagues, and his 10-year career with the Dodgers — and his outspoken activism in his later years — helped set the stage for the burgeoning civil rights movement.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier that not only changed baseball, but changed the culture and society of America itself. Jackie took the baseball diamond during a time when prejudice and racial segregation were common in America, and nobody thought much of it.

Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the United States during the 20th century. On April 15, 1947, he broke the decades-old “colour line” of Major League Baseball when he appeared on the field for the National League Brooklyn Dodgers in a game against the Boston Braves.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson engineered the integration of professional sports in America by breaking the color barrier in baseball. He overcame numerous obstacles in his 10 year career to become one of baseball’s most exciting and dazzling players.

Let’s get this out of the way: Jackie Robinson should be in the Hall of Fame because he broke the color barrier. If he didn’t break the color barrier, Robinson may not have been a Hall of Fame player. He finished his career with 1,518 career hits, 137 home runs, and a . 311 batting average.

– On July 23, 1962, Jackie Robinson is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. – On April 15, 1997, Major League Baseball universally retires Jackie Robinson’s number 42 for every major league team.

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