The Brooklyn Dodgers Purchase Jackie Robinson's Contract

On April 10, 1947, during the sixth inning of an exhibition game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Montreal Royals at Ebbets Field, Dodgers assistant Arthur Mann walked into the press box and handed out a single-paragraph announcement. "The Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased the contract of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson from the Montreal Royals."

The words were plain. Their consequence was enormous. Robinson, who had spent the previous season starring for Montreal in the International League, was about to become the first Black player in the major leagues since the 1880s, when an unwritten agreement had driven Black athletes out of organized baseball.

Branch Rickey, the Dodgers' general manager, had been planning this moment for years. He had scouted Robinson not only for his ability but for his temperament, his willingness to absorb hostility without retaliating. Robinson had proven himself in Montreal, hitting .349 and leading the Royals to a Little World Series championship. During spring training in 1947, Robinson batted .340 against Dodgers pitching in exhibition games played in Havana.

Rickey made the announcement without even telling Robinson first. The contract was dated April 11 and formally approved on April 15, the day Robinson jogged onto the field at Ebbets Field for his first regular-season game.

Robinson went on to bat .297 that season with a league-leading 29 stolen bases and won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award. More importantly, his presence on the Dodgers' roster dismantled the barrier that had kept Black players out of the major leagues for six decades.

Five days separated the press release from the debut. The weight of those five days is difficult to overstate.