Dodgers Jackie Robinson Signs First Major League Contract

Few moments in baseball history changed the game as much as when Jackie Robinson took the field for the Dodgers. On this day in 1947, Robinson inked his first major league contract, setting the stage for that historic moment.

It had been a long time coming. For decades, Major League Baseball had been segregated, with the best black players forced to play in the Negro Leagues instead of playing against their white counterparts. Legends like Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige spent their careers toiling away without the chance to face the best in the game. But that was about to change.

After having Jackie Robinson spend a season in the minor leagues with the Montreal Royals in 1946, it was time for him to come up to the Dodgers. On this date in 1947, Branch Rickey, who personally recruited Robinson from the Negro Leagues, signed him to his first major league contract. That set off a firestorm, with players on the Dodgers, and on other teams, threatening to strike if Robinson was allowed to play.

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Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, who was ironically suspended for the season for consorting with gamblers shortly thereafter, squashed the threatened insurrection in Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Commissioner Happy Chandler did the same with the rest of the league, forcing them to play on the same field as Robinson. However, that did not make his burden any easier, as he still had to endure the racial taunts from opposing players and fans.

This was a part of why Rickey chose Robinson to be the first player to break the color barrier. He wanted someone who could continue to perform on the field with dignity and grace, ignoring those taunts and performing at a high level. Robinson would go on to do exactly that, going on to win the Rookie of the Year award after producing a .297/.383/.427 batting line with twelve home runs and a league leading 29 stolen bases.

Next: Michael Jordan makes MiLB debut

Few moments were as important in baseball history as when Jackie Robinson took the field for the Dodgers, smashing the color barrier once and for all. Signing his first major league contract on this day in 1947 set the stage for that moment.