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Article: 50 years of blacks in baseball. (baseball history)(1945-1995: Ebony 50 Years That Changed America)
- Article from:
- Ebony
- Article date:
- June 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Johnson Publishing Co. 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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It was October 23, 1945, the day Jackie Robinson took the first step toward making the biggest breakthrough in sports history.
On that day, Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, officially announced that Robinson was being assigned to the Dodgers' minor league affiliate Montreal Royals for a $3,500 bonus and a salary of $600 a month. With that announcement, the 56-year-old "gentleman's agreement" among the White owners was finally broken, and the stage was set for Robinson to become--after a year in the minors--the first Black player in the Major Leagues in the modem era. (Prior to Robinson, Fleetwood Walker, in 1889, was the last Black player in White ...