Jackie Robinson was an exceptional athlete and a civil rights leader. On April 15, 1947, he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he trotted out to first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Dodgers great Jackie Robinson was a household name before he broke the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1947. In Montreal, at least, where the fans accepted and revered him. That’s where ...

"Jackie Robinson's impact was greater than just that of baseball. He was a transforming agent and in the face of such hostility and such meanness and violence, he did it with such amazing dignity.

After a stint with the minor-league Montreal Royals, Jackie Robinson was the first Black man to play in Major League Baseball and a key contributor to the civil rights movement in the United States.

Before Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Jackie Robinson became the first Black player in Major League Baseball and embarked on a Hall-of-Fame MLB career, he was a four-sport star at UCLA ...

A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.

But then again, there haven't been many people like Jackie Robinson. "A life is not important," he said, "except in the impact it has on other lives." Jackie Robinson led the way for generations ...