Jackie Robinson Enshrined: First Black Hall of Famer
The voting wasn't close. Jackie Robinson received 77.5% of the Baseball Writers' Association ballots in his first year of eligibility—124 of 160 votes. But he'd waited five years after retirement, the mandatory period, while white players with worse statistics already had plaques in Cooperstown. His 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers debut had drawn death threats and hate mail by the sackful. Now, July 23, 1962, he entered the Hall at 43, his hair already white from diabetes that would take his sight and his life at 53. The first Black player became the first Black honoree because someone had finally let him play.
July 3, 1962
64 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on July 3
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