Abstract

Jackie Robinson impacted baseball and the United States more than people think. The first thing people need to know about the integration of Major League Baseball is the history. Before Jackie Robinson integrated professional baseball, there were separate leagues that only had African American players, they were called the negro leagues. Robinson was pulled from the negro leagues in 1947 to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This stopped segregation in professional baseball. Robinson also inspired others to integrate different sports like basketball and golf. Robinson sparked the civil rights movement and gave African Americans a voice in the world of professional sports. The integration of baseball also had its negative impacts. Many people lost their jobs because of the collapse of the negro leagues. Racism was also brought into the sport. However, some people believe that Moses Fleetwood Walker was the person to integrate professional baseball. Some people believe that the Ives-Quinn Act forced professional baseball to integrate. However, Robinson permanently stopped segregation in professional baseball. Also, the Ives-Quinn Act did not force anybody to integrate; Branch Rickey wanted to sign Robinson before and the act just made it easier.