"Following Rickey's lead, some Major League clubs were quick to integrate, with the Dodgers having four or five blacks on their roster by the mid-1950s. Other teams held off as long as possible, with the last team to hire a black player, the Boston Red Sox, doing so only in 1959. Overall, in the first decade, only a small number of black players were hired by the Major League teams. By the 1960s, however, younger blacks and Latins came to excel at baseball, although they have never dominated the game to the extent of some other American professional sports, especially basketball. Professional football and basketball, which had also been racially segregated, integrated at the same time as baseball." (Rubinstein, 2003)
The above quote shows how much influence Jackie Robinson had on not only baseball but on other sports as well. It shows that in the short span of only 2 years ALL major league baseball teams had integrated as well as 2 other sports and it was all because of how well Jackie made the transition. By keeping his head down and just letting his actions speak for themselves to show he belonged he paved the way for others.
Source:
Rubinstein, W. (2003). Jackie Robinson and the integration of major league baseball. History Today, 53(9), 20.
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