Changes

After that first game without a hit, Robinson settled into the season, batting .300 for most of the campaign and leading the team in home runs, stolen bases and total bases. The Dodgers took the New York Yankees to a game seven in the 1947 World Series, ultimately losing the championship 4 games to 3.

Robinson’s debut had an almost immediate impact throughout baseball. In July of 1947 Larry Doby became the first African-American to play for an American League team, the Cleveland Indians. Others followed in 1947, Willard Brown and Henry Thompson were briefly called up for the St. Louis Browns. Dan Bankhead pitched in three games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 as well. Though Robinson and Doby were the only two to stay for an extended period of time from that 1947 class, it was clear that the color line was a thing of the past.