List of first black Major League Baseball players Facts for Kids

This page lists the first Black players in Major League Baseball, in the order they joined. For many years, a rule called the "baseball color line" stopped Black players from joining Major League Baseball. This rule was in place until 1947.

Before 1885, a few Black men played in the major leagues. William Edward White played one game in 1879. He had light skin, so he was able to pass as white. Moses Fleetwood Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884. His brother, Weldy Walker, also played five games for the same team that year. After 1884, baseball officials made the color line very strict. Black players were kept out of major league baseball until 1947. They were also kept out of white minor league teams after 1889.

The Brooklyn Dodgers finally broke this long-standing rule. They started Jackie Robinson at first base on April 15, 1947. He became a famous player and is now in the Hall of Fame. The Boston Red Sox were the last team to add a Black player. This happened on July 21, 1959, when Pumpsie Green played for them.

Early Black Players (Before 1885)
Breaking the Color Line (After 1946)
- First 20 Black Players (Overall)
- First Black Player by Team
See also

Early Black Players (Before 1885)

This table shows the first Black players who played in Major League Baseball before the color line became very strict.

Player	Team	League	First game	Last game
White, William EdwardWilliam Edward White	Providence Grays	NL	June 21, 1879	June 21, 1879
Walker, Moses FleetwoodMoses Fleetwood Walker	Toledo Blue Stockings	AA	May 1, 1884	September 4, 1884
Walker, WeldyWeldy Walker	Toledo Blue Stockings	AA	July 15, 1884	August 6, 1884

Breaking the Color Line (After 1946)

After 1946, Major League Baseball finally allowed Black players again. This section lists the first Black players to join the league after this change.

Key
†	Player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

First 20 Black Players (Overall)

Here are the first 20 Black players who joined Major League Baseball after Moses Fleetwood Walker's last game in 1884.

Player	Team	League	Date
Robinson, JackieJackie Robinson ^†	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	April 15, 1947
Doby, LarryLarry Doby ^†	Cleveland Indians	AL	July 5, 1947
Thompson, HankHank Thompson	St. Louis Browns	AL	July 17, 1947
Brown, WillardWillard Brown ^†	St. Louis Browns	AL	July 19, 1947
Bankhead, DanDan Bankhead	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	August 26, 1947
Campanella, RoyRoy Campanella ^†	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	April 20, 1948
Paige, SatchelSatchel Paige ^†	Cleveland Indians	AL	July 9, 1948
Miñoso, MinnieMinnie Miñoso ^†	Cleveland Indians	AL	April 19, 1949
Newcombe, DonDon Newcombe	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	May 20, 1949
Irvin, MonteMonte Irvin ^†	New York Giants	NL	July 8, 1949
Easter, LukeLuke Easter	Cleveland Indians	AL	August 11, 1949
Jethroe, SamSam Jethroe	Boston Braves	NL	April 18, 1950
Márquez, LuisLuis Márquez	Boston Braves	NL	April 18, 1951
Noble, RayRay Noble	New York Giants	NL
Wilson, ArtieArtie Wilson	New York Giants	NL
Simpson, HarryHarry Simpson	Cleveland Indians	AL	April 21, 1951
Mays, WillieWillie Mays ^†	New York Giants	NL	May 25, 1951
Hairston, SamSam Hairston	Chicago White Sox	AL	July 21, 1951
Boyd, BobBob Boyd	Chicago White Sox	AL	September 8, 1951
Jones, SamSam Jones	Cleveland Indians	AL	September 22, 1951

Note: Johnny Wright was the second Black player signed by the Dodgers. He was on the same team as Jackie Robinson in 1946, but he never played in the Major Leagues.

First Black Player by Team

This section lists the first Black player for each Major League Baseball team.

Teams are listed by their original franchise. If a team moved to a new city after adding a Black player, it is not listed again.
New teams that joined the National and American Leagues after 1961 already had Black players from their very first game, so they are not listed here.

Team	League	Date	Player
Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	April 15, 1947	Robinson, JackieJackie Robinson ^†
Cleveland Indians	AL	July 5, 1947	Doby, LarryLarry Doby ^†
St. Louis Browns	AL	July 17, 1947	Thompson, HankHank Thompson
New York Giants	NL	July 8, 1949^‡	Thompson, HankHank Thompson
New York Giants	NL	July 8, 1949^‡	Irvin, MonteMonte Irvin ^†
Boston Braves	NL	April 18, 1950	Jethroe, SamSam Jethroe
Chicago White Sox	AL	May 1, 1951	Miñoso, MinnieMinnie Miñoso ^†
Philadelphia Athletics	AL	September 13, 1953	Trice, BobBob Trice
Chicago Cubs	NL	September 17, 1953	Banks, ErnieErnie Banks ^†
Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	April 13, 1954	Roberts, CurtCurt Roberts*
St. Louis Cardinals	NL	April 13, 1954	Alston, TomTom Alston
Cincinnati Reds	NL	April 17, 1954	Escalera, NinoNino Escalera
Cincinnati Reds	NL	April 17, 1954	Harmon, ChuckChuck Harmon
Washington Senators	AL	September 6, 1954	Paula, CarlosCarlos Paula
New York Yankees	AL	April 14, 1955	Howard, ElstonElston Howard
Philadelphia Phillies	NL	April 22, 1957	Kennedy, JohnJohn Kennedy
Detroit Tigers	AL	June 6, 1958	Virgil Sr., OzzieOzzie Virgil Sr.
Boston Red Sox	AL	July 21, 1959	Green, PumpsiePumpsie Green

Major League Baseball says Curt Roberts was the Pirates' first Black player. However, Carlos Bernier from Puerto Rico, who was also Black, played earlier on April 22, 1953.

‡ Hank Thompson and Monte Irvin both played their first game for the Giants on July 8, 1949. Thompson started the game, and Irvin came in later as a pinch hitter.

List of first black Major League Baseball players facts for kids

Contents

Early Black Players (Before 1885)

Breaking the Color Line (After 1946)

First 20 Black Players (Overall)

First Black Player by Team

See also