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Article: History preserved in Kansas City with Negro Leagues museum.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- September 19, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Kathleen O'Brien
KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Most baseball fans know who Jackie Robinson was. He broke the color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
But few know Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first black player in the major leagues, 63 years before Robinson. He played for Toledo when it joined the American Association, then a major league, in 1884, but the color barrier was effectively raised three years later when the International League, then a step down from the majors, voted not to approve any new contracts with black players.
In the next six decades, thousands of talented baseball players were prohibited from playing in ...