This Day in History: <br />Jackie Robinson Breaks Color Barrier April 15, 1947 The 28-year-old baseball player <br />became the first African American <br />to play for Major League Baseball. The Georgia native stepped <br />onto the grass of Ebbots Field in <br />Brooklyn as a Brooklyn Dodger. Two years later, <br />the star infielder was named the <br />National League's MVP as well as a batting champ. He led his team to six <br />National League pennants and <br />the World Series in 1955. Robinson was subjected <br />to the racism of both players and <br />baseball fans throughout his career. Jim Crow laws forced him to dine <br />at different restaurants and stay at <br />different hotels than the rest of his team. Robinson was inducted into the <br />Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. <br />His number, 42, was the first <br />to be retired in 1997.
