April 15 marks not just an important date in baseball history, but one in American history.
Back on April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first Black player to appear in an MLB game in the modern era. Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier in baseball came seven years before the start of the civil rights movement.
Seventy-seven years removed from Robinson’s debut, Major League Baseball honors his milestone moment and the impact he had on the game.
HILLE: The eternal impact of No. 42
On Monday, Major League Baseball will once again be celebrating Robinson’s impact on the game. The number 42 will be emblazoned across all fields, baseballs will have the number printed on it and every jersey will feature the number 42.
Here’s what you need to know about Jackie Robinson Day in 2024.
When is Jackie Robinson Day?
Back in 2004, then-commissioner Bud Selig announced that MLB would celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on every April 15, commemorating the day Robinson debuted back in the majors back in 1947.
According to an MLB release, the decision to make April 15 Jackie Robinson Day came about as part of The Commissioner’s Initiative, which was formed to look at the game and find ways to improve it for fans.
Across MLB, pre-game festivities were held to honor Robinson. Scholars from the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a non-profit that awards four-year college scholarships to academically gifted students of color, threw out the first pitch at each game
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“I have often stated that baseball’s proudest moment and its most powerful social statement came on April 15, 1947 when Jackie Robinson first set foot on a Major League Baseball field,” Selig said, per the press release. “On that day, Jackie brought down the color barrier and ushered in the era in which baseball became the true national pastime.
“Fifty years after that historic event, in April 1997, I was proud to join Rachel Robinson and President Bill Clinton at Shea Stadium to honor Jackie by retiring his uniform number 42 in perpetuity. By establishing April 15 as ‘Jackie Robinson Day’ throughout Major League Baseball, we are further ensuring that the incredible contributions and sacrifices he made — for baseball and society — will not be forgotten.”
Why baseball players are wearing 42
On April 15, 1997, Ken Griffey Jr. decided to change around his uniform. The star Mariners outfielder, who had worn 24, received permission from Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s widow, to flip his numbers and wear No. 42 for the day.
“I was sitting there one day and thought, ‘It’s time that we celebrate certain people who have played this game and had an unbelievable impact on millions and millions of people,’” Griffey told The Sporting News in 2022.
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That same day, MLB announced that no player would wear the number 42 again. The only players that could continue to wear it from that point forward would be those who had worn the number before the announcement was made. When Mariano Rivera retired at the end of the 2013 season, all those who had worn the number had retired.
In 2007, Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. requested special permission to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day, receiving confirmation from both Rachel Robinson and from Selig.
“To me, that’s how you celebrate somebody. I was just doing it because I wanted to celebrate him in my own way, but it turned into something much bigger,” Griffey told TSN. “To see it every year get bigger and bigger, and to have the guys understand the history … that’s what it does. It helps teach a little bit of history, bring back history of the sport. Everybody looks at numbers and that’s it, what did this guy do last year, what’s he doing. But it also starts a conversation about what these guys went through and how they became who they are.”
The commissioner liked the idea and suggested at least one player from every team should follow suit. Before long, entire teams were wearing the number. The numbers expanded in 2008, and in 2009, every player and coach in the league wound up wearing the number. Since then, the No. 42 has been worn across the league on April 15.
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How did Jackie Robinson die?
Late in his life, Robinson dealt with heart disease and diabetes, according to his obituary. In 1968, he suffered a heart attack that cost him sight in one of his eyes.
On Oct. 24, 1972, Robinson suffered a heart attack at his home in Connecticut, and he was taken to the hospital after an external massage and receiving oxygen. He died that morning at the age of 53 years old.
What team did Jackie Robinson play for?
Robinson began his professional baseball career with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues. He played 34 games for the Monarchs in 1945, and following the season, he signed a deal with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Robinson spent all of the 1946 season with the Montreal Royals in Triple-A. He was promoted to the majors six days before the start of the season and never looked back.
From 1947 to 1956, he spent the entirety of his MLB career in Brooklyn playing for the Dodgers. He narrowly missed the move to Los Angeles, which the team did in 1958.
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What position did Jackie Robinson play?
There weren’t many positions Robinson didn’t play in his MLB career. He logged innings in each spot on the diamond except pitcher, catcher and center field.
The majority of Robinson’s career was spent at second base, where he logged 6,396.1 innings. Next up was third with 2,086 innings and first base with 1,664.1 innings. He tallied 1,171 innings in left field and eight innings in right. Robinson also spent 277 innings at shortstop.
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Jackie Robinson stats
In just his first season in the majors, Robinson was immediately one of the best players in the sport. He posted a slash line of .297/.383/.427 with 12 home runs and 29 steals in 40 attempts. He struck out only 36 times and walked 74 times. For the campaign, Robinson won the NL Rookie of the Year and finished fifth in MVP voting.
Two years later, Robinson ascended even further. The 1949 campaign saw Robinson win the batting title at .342 with a .432 on-base percentage and .528 slugging percentage. He also hit 16 home runs, swiped 37 bases, struck out only 27 times and walked 86 times. He also drove in 124 runs and scored 122 times. The result was Robinson being named the NL MVP.
Robinson went on to be named to six All-Star teams, earn MVP votes in eight seasons and win the World Series in 1955.
The 1962 first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee finished his career with a slash line of .313/.410/.477 with 141 home runs, 200 stolen bases, 972 runs scored and 761 RBI. He walked 756 times to just 291 strikeouts.
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