The Royals of Kansas City are a professional baseball team headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Central division.
First Black Kansas City Royals
Every Major League player has donned No. 42 on April 15 since 2009 as a tribute to Jackie Robinson’s legacy. Robinson has a special place in the Royals’ hearts because he played for the Royals before being signed by Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson who lived from January 31, 1919, to October 24, 1972, was the first African American to play Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. On April 15, 1947, Robinson defied baseball’s color line by starting at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it signaled the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had been in place since the 1880s and had consigned black players to the Negro leagues. In 1962, Robinson was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Robinson won the Rookie of the Year Award for the first time in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and was the first black player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949. Robinson appeared in six World Series and helped the Dodgers win the 1955 title.
