who was the first african american to play in the major leagues
Jackie Robinson
title: Weldy Walker text: Weldy Walker Weldy Wilberforce Walker (July 27, 1860 – November 23, 1937), sometimes known as Welday Walker and W. W. Walker, was an American baseball player. In 1884, he became the second African American to play Major League Baseball. Walker played college baseball at Oberlin College and the University of Michigan. In July 1884, he joined the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association which was then part of Major League Baseball. His brother Moses Fleetwood Walker, commonly known as Fleetwood (or "Fleet") Walker, was the first African American to play Major League Baseball, making his debut two months before title: William Edward White text: William Edward White William Edward White (October 1860 – March 29, 1937) was a 19th-century American baseball player. He played as a substitute in one professional baseball game for the Providence Grays of the National League, on June 21, 1879. Work by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) suggests that he may have been the first African-American to play major league baseball, predating the longer careers of Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Weldy Walker by five years; and Jackie Robinson by 68 years. Very little is known about White, who replaced the regular first baseman, Joe Start, after title: History of baseball in the United States text: a common misconception that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American major-league ballplayer; he was actually only the first after a long gap (and the first in the modern era). Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Weldy Walker were unceremoniously dropped from major and minor-league rosters in the 1880s, as were other African-Americans in baseball. An unknown number of African-Americans played in the major leagues by representing themselves as Indians, or South or Central Americans, and a still larger number played in the minor leagues and on amateur teams as well. In the majors, however, it was not until the signing title: Jackie Robinson text: Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, they heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Robinson had an exceptional 10-year MLB career. He title: Wendell Smith text: Wendell Smith Wendell Smith (March 23, 1914 – November 26, 1972) was an African American sportswriter who was influential in the choice of Jackie Robinson to become the first African American player in Major League Baseball in the 20th century. In 1993 Smith was named the winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, which was awarded at the 1994 Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. A Detroit native, Smith graduated from West Virginia State College where he pitched on the baseball team. One day after winning a game, a major league scout approached him and said that he wished