Walker a catcher for the 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings So far he hadn’t given the crowd much to cheer about But if the Dodgers could get Stanky around all of the bases they could tie the game Robinson laid down a perfect bunt Stanky scampered to second base while Boston’s first baseman rushed his throw The ball hit Robinson and sailed toward the outfield Stanky and Robinson kept running each gaining another base Up next Pete Reiser hit a double landing him on second base and both Stanky and Robinson scored The Dodgers took WHAT’S A DODGER The Dodgers team dates to the 1850s During that early era baseball writers gave the teams often-changing nicknames They named the Brooklyn squad the Atlantics the Grays the Bridegrooms and then just the Grooms In 1895 the writers came up with Trolley Dodgers It was a grim fact that in the streets of Brooklyn new electric trolleys were running down many pedestrians The name Dodgers first appeared on the team’s uniform in 1933 That name stuck with the squad after it moved to Los Angeles California in 1958
the lead and went on to win the game 5 3 Reiser got most of the attention in the next day’s papers But Jackie Robinson had proven that African Americans could succeed in baseball Taking a Chance There was no rule against African Americans playing professional baseball But many states kept the races apart by custom or by law There seemed to be a silent agreement among team owners PERSPECTIVES THE FIRST BLACK PLAYER Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first African American to play in the big leagues In 1884 the American Association admitted his Toledo Ohio Blue Stockings to the league Walker didn’t have the same athletic ability as Robinson The Blue Stockings cut him at the end of the season Walker’s experiences made him feel as though black and white people would never get along He wrote All experience and every deduction from human nature and human conduct are against the attempt to harmonize two alien races under the same government
Only white men played major league baseball For black men the big leagues were out of bounds Branch Rickey the Dodgers general manager signed Robinson to a contract in April 1947 Rickey knew he was taking a chance There were owners players and fans who didn’t want to see Robinson play in the big leagues In their view the sport should be segregated Black players belonged in the separate leagues known as the Negro Leagues But Rickey believed in Jackie Robinson and he wanted Robinson to play for the Dodgers The team recruited him from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues In 1946 Robinson played for Brooklyn’s minor league team in Montreal Canada That year he led the International League with a 349 batting average For Rickey there was no reason to wait any longer As one of the best players at the highest minor league level Robinson was good enough for the Dodgers This decision would change American sports forever
STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis served as the commissioner of baseball for 24 years from 1921 to 1944 Late in his career he denied the game had a color line Speaking at a meeting in a New York hotel he declared I want to make it clear that there is not never has been and as long as I am connected with baseball there never will be any agreement among the teams or between any two teams preventing Negroes from participating in organized baseball Each manager is free to choose players regardless of race color or any other condition Source Marc Norton Jackie Robinson I Never Had It Made Countercurrents org Countercurrents org November 5 2013 Web Accessed October 12 2017 Back It Up Judge Landis is using statements to make a point about segregation in baseball Write a paragraph describing the point Landis is making Then write down two or three pieces of evidence Landis uses to make the point
