Color line

From BR Bullpen

The color line was a de facto rule in major league baseball from 1884 until 1946. It is also commonly referred to as the color barrier. Owners in the major leagues colluded to ban players who were of African descent. This ban also extended to dark skinned players of Latin descent.

After World War II, the Brooklyn Dodgers breeched the color line with the signing of Jackie Robinson in 1946. When Robinson made his debut with the Dodgers on April 15, 1947, he broke baseball's color barrier and the slow process of integration in major league baseball began. Larry Doby broke the color barrier in the American League on July 5, 1947.

Certain Latin players, although they played in the Negro Leagues, were light-skinned enough to also play in the white major leagues and did in the early years of the 20th century.

[edit] Further Reading

• Roberta Newman: "Pitching Behind the Color Line: Baseball, Advertising, and Race", in The Baseball Research Journal, Number 36 (2007), SABR, Cleveland, OH, pp. 81-90.