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Historians have observed that professional baseball is a microcosm of U.S. culture; in some cases magnifying society’s changes and in others acting as a driving force for dramatic shifts in the way people think, act and remember history. So it is only fitting that some of the most influential Black Americans played in the Negro Baseball Leagues and/or made their mark in Major League Baseball.
"Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks (sporting his 500HRC hat!) joins club members Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron (and Bud Selig) to salute Robinson's widow Rachel at Jackie Robinson Day festivities.Robinson Erases MLB Baseball Color Line
Baseball's
color barrier was shattered on April 18, 1946 by Jackie Robinson, when
Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey signed the African-American player
Jackie Robinson in 1946. Although Mr. Rickey intended Robinson to play
for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League, he made his first
appearance with the Montreal Royals in the International League. After
a single season with Montreal, where he endured epithets and death
threats, he joined the parent club and helped propel the Dodgers to a
pennant. Along the way he also earned Rookie Of The Year honors.
 Robinson's
success opened the floodgates for a stream of black players into
organized baseball. He was soon joined in Brooklyn by Negro League
stars Roy Campanella, Joe Black and Don Newcombe, and Larry Doby became
the American League's first black star with the Cleveland Indians. By
1952 there were 150 black players in organized baseball, and the "cream
of the crop" had been lured from Negro League rosters to the integrated
minors and majors.
"A life is not important except in the impact
it has on other lives,” Robinson said when asked about his influence on
baseball and his role as an innovator in the sport and American
society. "The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball
with me. The game did much for me, and I did much for it."
According
to Robinson’s Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese: "I don't know any other
ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did…. to be
able to hit with everybody yelling at him. He had block out everything
but this ball that is coming in at 100 M.P.H. To do what he did, under
the conditions that he saw day in and day out, has got to be the most
tremendous thing I've ever seen in sports."
“I am not concerned
with being liked or disliked. I am concerned with being respected,”
Jackie said. He got his fondest wish and more in the form of lasting
respect, admiration from his peers and fans worldwide. In addition to
shoving the door open for future black players (of African, Cuban,
Puerto Rican, Costa Rican, Venezuelan, Dominican heritage), Jackie
showed that anyone with the god-given skills, tenacity, courage and
longevity can play baseball at the highest level – in the Major League.
Hank Aaron
In 1970, soon after collecting his 3,000th hit,
Henry Aaron utilized his heightened visibility as an chance to
encourage MLB to provide African-Americans with greater management and
front office opportunities. When asked about his memories of
Robinson, Hammerin’ Hank said: “Jackie had the strength to suppress his
instincts, to sacrifice his pride for his people's. It was an
incredible act of selflessness that brought the races closer together
and shaped the dreams of an entire generation,” he observed “I was 41
home runs short of Babe Ruth's career record when Jackie died, and I
really felt that it was up to me to keep his dream alive. I was
inspired to dedicate my home run record to the same great cause to
which Jackie dedicated his life. Hardly a day goes by that I don't
think of him.”
 Willie Mays Praised Jackie For Opening The Door
Dubbed the “Say Hey Kid” when he played semiprofessional baseball at the age
of 16, Willie Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro
National League in 1948, playing only on Sunday during the school
year. The National League New York Giants paid the Barons for his
contract when he graduated from Fairfield Industrial High School in
1950. After two seasons in the minor leagues, Mays went to the Giants
in 1951.
"Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson,” Willie said.
“Junior” Pays Tribute to Jackie Robinson On April 4, 1997, Ken Griffey Jr. called MLB Commissioner Bud Selig with
the idea of wearing Jackie Robinson's No. 42 on April 15 to celebrate
the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier
in baseball. "It’s just my way of giving that man his due respect,"
Griffey said of his one-day switch from a Seattle Mariner’s uniform No.
24 to No. 42 (Robinson’s uniform number with the Dodgers). "If it
weren't for Jackie Robinson, I wouldn't be in the uniform I'm wearing
today," Griffey said. "He should be an inspiration not only to baseball
players but to anyone who fights prejudice and hatred."
Selig
liked Griffey's idea so much, he has encouraged other clubs to have a
player wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day. "This is a wonderful
gesture on Ken's part and a fitting tribute to the great Jackie
Robinson and one, I believe, that all Clubs will eagerly endorse,"
Selig said. “I thank Ken for finding another special way to mark
Jackie Robinson Day."
Ernie Banks Followed Jackie From Negro Leagues
“Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks began his baseball career at the age of 17 playing
semipro baseball with a barnstorming black team for $15 a game. But
that didn’t last for long, as "Cool Papa" Bell saw him and signed him
to play for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, a team full
of eventual major leaguers managed by Negro Leagues icon Buck O'Neil.
Banks, who skipped the minors and jumped directly to the Chicago Cubs,
said he was greatly inspired by Jackie Robinson. "Jackie Robinson
impacted my life tremendously,” said Banks, who went on to hit 512 home
runs and win two MVP awards in a Hall-of-Fame career, “So much so that
I wanted to be like Jackie."
Frank Robinson Wished Jackie Could See Him Named First Black Manager in MLB
When he was named manager of the Indians in October 1974, Robinson told the
media, "If I had one wish in the world today, it would be that [the
late] Jackie Robinson could be here to see this happen."
And that pretty much sums it up for all African-American players in the Major Leagues.
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