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