Jackie Robinson retired with 1,518 career hits, 137 home runs and 734 RBIs. He was a 6-time All-Star and the 1949 National League MVP. But before all his many statistical accomplishments, he had to find a way to get into the MLB.
On this day, April 11th, in 1947, the president of the MLB Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Ricky, offers Jackie Robinson a spot on his team and Robinson accepts. Robinson is the first African-American major league baseball player since the segregation of sports in 1889. Wearing the Dodger uniform with dignity, he broke color barriers by challenging segregation in the South and North, and he pioneered the integration of professional athletes.
After his storybook career, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame and his jersey #42 was retired by every MLB team so that no player would ever wear the iconic number again.