First African-American ballplayers by team
BROOKLYN DODGERS
Jackie Robinson, Hall of Fame second baseman, went 0-for-3 and played first base when he made his major-league debut April 15, 1947, breaking MLB's color barrier. Eddie Stanky was entrenched at the keystone position for the Dodgers that season, necessitating a position switch for Robinson. Aside from going hitless, Robinson grounded into a double play, but also produced a sacrifice hit and run scored during the Dodgers' 5-3 win over the Boston Braves. But though that day was a portent for things to come regarding players of color in baseball, it didn't necessarily represent what Robinson would achieve. After spending the majority of his first two seasons at first base, Robinson switched to second, compiling a .983 fielding percentage in the course of nine seasons. The Rookie of the Year in 1947 and MVP in 1949, Robinson was a six-time All-Star who had eight top-20 finishes in the MVP voting during a 10-year career. He finished with a .311 batting average, 137 home runs, 734 RBIs and 197 stolen bases, twice leading the league.
Almost three months after Jackie Robinson opened the door, Larry Doby stepped through it, as well. Doby debuted as a pinch hitter, striking out in his lone plate appearance during a 6-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox on July 5, 1947. He went just 5-for-32 during his first season, before coming into his own in 1948. Doby batted .301 as Cleveland went on to win a World Series. Doby's home run during Game 4 made him the first black player to homer in the World Series. A seven-time All-Star, the centerfielder finished second in MVP voting in 1954, when he led the league with 32 home runs (tying a career high) and 126 RBIs. After spending the 1956 and '57 seasons with the White Sox, Doby returned to Cleveland for the 1958 season, then played his last major-league game with the White Sox in 1959. He finished with a .283 batting average, 253 home runs and 970 RBIs. Doby went on to play in Japan before returning to the states to coach in the majors. When he became the manager of the White Sox during the 1978 season, he became the second black manager in the majors.
ST. LOUIS BROWNS
Just 12 days after Larry Doby made his debut, Hank Thompson started at second base for St. Louis. He went 0-for-4 during a 16-2 loss to the Athletics on July 17, 1947. Two days later, another black player, Willard Brown, also joined the lineup. And on July 20, both Brown and Thompson started, the first time two black players had ever appeared on the same team. On Aug. 9, during the nightcap of a doubleheader against Cleveland, Thompson (who went 3-for-3) played against pinch hitter Doby (he walked). It was the first time black players on opposing teams had ever played against each other. Thompson played his last game for the Browns on Aug. 22, after going 20-for-78 (.256) in 27 games. It wouldn't be the last time Thompson made history with a team looking to integrate.
After being released by St. Louis, Hank Thompson returned to the Negro Leagues for a short time before signing with a Giants minor-league team. On July 8, 1949, he was called up and led off during a 4-3 loss to Jackie Robinson's Brooklyn Dodgers. The second black player in Giants history also debuted during that game, when Monte Irvin drew a pinch-hit walk. Thompson played seven more seasons with the Giants, hitting 20 or more home runs three times. He retired after the 1956 season with a .267 batting average, .372 on-base percentage, 129 home runs and 482 RBIs. Irvin went on to hit .293 in eight seasons, seven with the Giants and one with the Chicago Cubs. He finished third in the 1951 MVP voting when he hit .312 and led the league with 121 RBIs.
BOSTON BRAVES
Some of the players who helped integrate the major leagues made loud statements with their presence, but otherwise had a quiet day at the plate. Sam Jethroe wasn't having any of that quiet stuff. Jethroe went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, two RBIs and a walk while starting in centerfield and batting second on April 18, 1950. The Braves clobbered the Giants, 11-4, and Jethroe's two-out solo shot in the eighth inning off reliever Kirby Higbe upped Boston's edge to 9-4. Due to an extensive career in the Negro Leagues, Jethroe was already 33 when he made his debut. He lasted just three full seasons in Boston, winning Rookie of the Year his first season and batting .261 with 49 home runs overall with the Braves. He played in the minors in 1953 before a trade to Pittsburgh, where he lasted just one at-bat. Jethroe played several more seasons with Toronto of the International League, but never played in the majors again.
Though he's not of African-American heritage, the Cuban born Minnie Minoso is given credit as the first black player in White Sox history. Minoso made his debut with Cleveland in 1949, but was traded to the White Sox in 1951. On May 1, he made his Chicago debut against the Yankees, batting third. He went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored. In 17 seasons, Minoso hit .298, had a .389 on-base percentage, stole 205 bases and hit 186 home runs. Minoso is also credited as the only player to play professional baseball in seven different decades. His main MLB career stretched from 1949-64. But Minoso appeared in three games for the White Sox in 1976 and received two more at-bats with the club in 1980. He made appearances with the independent St. Paul Saints in 1993 and 2003. The 77-year-old drew a walk in his final professional plate appearance.
PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS
Pitcher Bob Trice first took a major-league mound Sept. 13, 1953, taking a 5-2 loss to Don Larsen and the St. Louis Browns. Trice pitched eight innings, allowed eight hits and five runs (all earned). He didn't walk a batter and struck out two. He pitched two more seasons with the Athletics, mostly as a starter, though he made four relief outings after the franchise moved to Kansas City in 1955. Trice finished his career 9-9 with a 5.80 ERA in 26 games (21 starts). Perhaps the oddest stat of his career is this, however: Trice struck out only 28 batters in 152 total innings, an average of 1.7 per nine innings.
Ernie Banks, "Mr. Cub," made his debut for Chicago playing shortstop and batting seventh during a 16-4 loss to the Phillies on Sept. 17, 1953. Banks went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, with an error, a placid beginning to a Hall of Fame career. Banks, who switched to first base in 1962, posted 10 top-20 finishes in the MVP voting during his 19-year career, winning the award in 1958 and 1959. The 14-time All Star batted .274 lifetime with 512 home runs and 1,636 RBIs. He led the league in home runs twice: 47 in 1958 and 41 in 1960. He led the league in RBIs twice: 129 in 1958 and 143 in 1959. During his 1958 MVP campaign, he also led the league with 379 total bases and a .614 slugging percentage. He played his last game in 1971, retiring after spending his entire career with the Cubs.
The Pirates integrated on April 13, 1954, when Curt Roberts stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first inning. Roberts went 1-for-3 with a triple during a 4-2 win over the Phillies, but there wouldn't be many good times for him in the majors. After hitting .232 with one home run his first season, the second baseman was used sparingly in two more seasons with Pittsburgh before he was out of MLB. Roberts died in 1969 at just 40 years old after he got hit by a car while changing a flat tire.
The integration lightbulb finally went off in the minds of St. Louis management in 1954, and who better to flip the switch than Thomas Edison? Thomas Edison Alston, that is. The first baseman debuted April 13, batting sixth during a 13-4 loss to the Cubs. He went 0-for-4 and hit just .246 in 66 games that season. Alston appeared in only 25 more games during the next three seasons before he was out of baseball. He suffered from a mental condition called neurasthenia and had to be hospitalized after he stopped playing.
Four days after St. Louis integrated its club, Cincinnati added the first two players of color to its squad. First up was Nino Escalera, who led off the seventh inning April 17 with a pinch-hit single. Escalera, born in Puerto Rico, batted .159 in 73 games during his lone season in the majors. Following Escalera to the plate was Chuck Harmon, a veteran of the Negro Leagues. Harmon flew out in his pinch-hit at-bat, but went on to a slightly more successful MLB career than his teammate. During four seasons with Cincinnati, St. Louis and Philadelphia, Harmon hit .238 with seven home runs.
WASHINGTON SENATORS
Batting fifth for Washington on Sept. 6, 1954 was Carlos Paula, a Cuban-born player who became the first player of color for the franchise. Paula went 2-for-5 in his debut and went on to hit .271 with nine home runs during three seasons for the Senators as a part-time player.
It took until April 14, 1955, but when Elston Howard drove a pinch-hit single to centerfield to score Mickey Mantle in the eighth inning of an 8-4 loss to the Red Sox, the Yankees had finally integrated. Howard, who played catcher, leftfield, rightfield and first base during 14 seasons in New York and Boston, became a 12-time All Star, won two Gold Gloves and captured the 1963 MVP award after hitting .287 with 28 home runs. He finished his career with a .274 average and 167 home runs, appearing in 10 World Series and winning four.
The name John Kennedy would rise to a more recognized historic level a few years later, but the John Kennedy who got two at-bats with Philadelphia in 1957 was a pretty historic fellow, too, considering he was the first black player to appear in a Phillies uniform. His brief career spanned just five games, consisting of one run scored and no hits. His first appearance came as a pinch runner on April 22; he didn't score.
Dominican-born Ozzie Virgil Sr. became the first player of color in Tigers history when he appeared in a June 6, 1958 game. But he didn't debut with Detroit. Virgil played two seasons for the Giants before a trade sent him to the Tigers. Virgil played nine seasons in the majors, hitting .231 with 14 home runs, primarily playing third base.
Twelve years, three months and six days after Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues, the last vestiges of segregation in the majors ended with a whimper, not a bang, as Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green appeared as a late-game pinch runner and defensive replacement July 21, 1959. The middle infielder played for five seasons, batting .246 with a .357 on-base percentage and 13 home runs. He finished his career by appearing in 17 games with the Mets in 1963.
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