Jackie Robinson photos

In 1889, African Americans were banned from playing with White baseball players in the Major Leagues. Baseball stayed segregated for over 50 years. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. In 1947, Jackie started playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. At first, some people weren’t happy that an African American was playing in the Majors, but Jackie was such a good player that fans and players just had to accept him.

 

Looking back on his career, Robinson said, “Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion, you’re wasting your life.”

 

These pictures from the late 1940s–early 1950s were taken by Barney Stein, official sports photographer of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Post. They capture not only the athletic abilities of Robinson, but also the camaraderie he felt with his teammates.