Breaking baseball's color barrier

The number 42 is retired across all MLB teams for a good reason. That is the uniform number for Jackie Robinson, the first person to break the color barrier in modern MLB.

Before Jackie, the last Black player in the MLB was Moses Fleetwood Walker back in 1889. Besides being the first Black player in over half a century to play in the majors and enduring racism, he played baseball at a hall of fame level. He hit .313 over ten seasons with 141 home runs and 200 stolen bases. He won the NL rookie of the year award in 1947 and the NL MVP in 1949.