) International League * Montreal Royals (by1946) Major League Baseball * Brooklyn Dodgers (by1947-by1956) highlights= * 6� All-Star (Major League Baseball All-Star Game) selection (1949 (1949 Major League Baseball All-Star Game), 1950 (1950 Major League Baseball All-Star Game), 1951 (1951 Major League Baseball All-Star Game), 1952 (1952 Major League Baseball All-Star Game), 1953 (1953 Major League Baseball All-Star Game), 1954 (1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game)) * Negro League All-Star (East-West All-Star Game) selection (1945) * World Series champion (wsy1955) * 1947 MLB Rookie of the Year (Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award) * 1949 NL MVP (Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award) * Jersey number 42 retired by all MLB teams * Major League Baseball All-Century Team hofdate=by1962 hofvote=77.5% (Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1962) (first ballot)

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972) was the first black (African American) Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement (African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)).

Apart from his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, he played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers 1955 World Championship (1955 World Series). He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games (Major League Baseball All-Star Game) from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award (Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award) in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award (Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award) in 1949 - the first black player so honored. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired (Uniform number (Major League Baseball)#Retirement of Numbers) his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.

Robinson was also known for his pursuits outside the baseball diamond. He was the first black television analyst in Major League Baseball, and the first black vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned/controlled financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.