Major League Baseball marked Jackie Robinson Day on Wednesday, with every player, coach and umpire wearing No. 42 in honor of the 79th anniversary of his historic debut.
According to the Associated Press, Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
He went on to win Rookie of the Year, become a six-time All-Star and earn the National League MVP award in 1949.
“Every player of color who now enjoys our great sport owes it to this man,” Bob Kendrick said, according to AP.
Tributes took place at several stadiums, including a ceremony at Dodger Stadium, where players from the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets gathered around Robinson’s statue.
“What he did was incredibly difficult under the harshest circumstances imaginable,” Kendrick said.
“He had to go out and not only deal with the racial hatred, but he carried 21 million black people on his back when he walked across that line. If he had failed, an entire race of people would have failed. That’s an enormous amount of pressure. How he did that with such grace, class and dignity is absolutely incredible. And no, we should never forget Jackie Robinson,” he added.
