MLB: A brief history of Jackie Robinson Day in baseball

April 15 is upon us and that means it is one of the most sacred days on the baseball calendar: Jackie Robinson Day.

Some people, however, may not know any of the history of the event or all of the history of it, With that in mind, here is a brief history to why everyone that takes a baseball field in MLB or MiLB will be wearing #42.

Who was Jackie Robinson?

Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player to ever play for an MLB team. Before 1947, no African American had ever played in the Major Leagues as they just played in the “Negro Leagues,” which was comprised of numerous teams throughout North America that had African American or Latin players on them.

Jackie Robinson played on the Kansas City Monarchs (a Negro Leagues team) in 1945 and after the 1945 season, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers). In 1946, he played in Triple-A for the Dodgers with the Montreal Royals in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Before the 1947 season, Robinson was called up to the major leagues, becoming the first African American player to ever play in MLB.

He made his debut with the Dodgers at the age of 28 and played through the 1956 season.

In his 10 years with the Dodgers, Robinson was a six-time All-Star. Among many accolades, he won the 1947 NL Rookie of the Year Award, the 1949 NL batting title, the 1955 World Series with the Dodgers, the 1949 NL MVP Award, and he also finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting three more times.

With the Negro Leagues being recognized as an MLB league in 2021, Robinson now has 11 seasons played in MLB (instead of 10) and seven All-Star appearances (and not six).