Jackie Robinson

When Jack Roosevelt Robinson made his major league debut on April 15, 1947 in front of 26,623 spectators at Ebbets Field, including more than 14,000 black patrons, he became the first African-American player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier, which segregated the sport for more than 55 years.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, and to honor African American players in the major leagues, I have compiled a nine player lineup of the greatest African American players in baseball history.

There were a number of tough decisions in naming the team, and the likes of Ken Griffey Jr, Joe Morgan, and Frank Thomas, among many others didn't make the cut.

So here it is, the starting nine African American players in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

There used to be a day when race stood in the way of athletes playing a game they were great at.

Athletes breaking down racial barriers were a huge part of the Civil Rights movement, but even after that there was still great discrimination in American sports until recent decades. 

Now there is a day in baseball where many of the league's players honor Jackie Robinson by wearing his No. 42. 

On Saturday Albert Pujols and his manager, Tony LaRussa, attended the "Restoring Honor," rally held on the Mall in Washington D.C.  The rally was organized by popular radio and television host Glenn Beck.

The rally was exceedingly well attended with estimates placing the crowd between 300,000 and 500,000.  Beck and his organizers stated goals were to raise money for the families of fallen special forces soldiers and make a public expression of faith and patriotism.

The rally was not without its critics.

Baseball is an absurd game. And I think that’s why we love it.

I was reminded of this when I happened across The Sandlot as I was skimming through channels the other day. In an odd sort of bummer, I tuned in at the very end, just after the gang has finally defeated Hercules and Smalls and Benny have their meet and greet with James Earl Jones. Alas, I had missed out on all the fun stuff.

The good news is that I was in time for the money shot.

Another Jackie Robinson  Day in the MLB has come and gone.

Wait a minute, it is still going.

That's right, it is such an awesome dealie that the Cincinnati Reds get to do it twice. Since the Pittsburgh Pirates were off yesterday, the Reds get to wear their stylish No. 42's again tonight.

I wrote an article for Bleacher Report last year throwing my two cents worth of opinion on the over-celebrated status of the event.

On April 14, 1947, Major League Baseball was a whites-only sport. Not since the expulsion of black players in 1888 had a non-Caucasian man swung a bat or thrown a pitch in the Big Show.

That changed on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.

Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers' president, made an explosive revelation at the Wilberforce State University annual football dinner on Feb. 16, 1948.

In a candid and passionate speech to an audience of about 250 individuals, Mr. Rickey disclosed extremely damaging information about a document that allegedly was approved before Jackie Robinson became the major leagues' first black player.

I know, I know. That is not a picture of Jackie Robinson (It's Andruw Jones).

But, in a late tribute to the trail blazer that was Jackie Robinson, I have decided to dedicate my 42nd article to No. 42.

This is a story that we have all heard a billion-and-a-half times before; but every time I hear it, I get chills up and down my spine.

On Dec. 13, 1956, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded Jackie Robinson to the hated New York Giants for left-handed journeyman pitcher Dick Littlefield.

The only problem was that neither team knew that Robinson had decided to retire from baseball.