Who was the first black major league baseball player?

Brainyblonde

Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972), became the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era in 1947. Robinson's achievement has been recognized by his uniform number, 42, being retired by all Major League Baseball Teams; the number will never again be given to a player, although two players (Mariano Rivera and Mo Vaughn) played with that number at the time of it's retirement; while Vaughn has retired Rivera continues to wear the number. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson Aug 18 06, 10:33 AM

spidersghost43

There was a player in the 1880's named Moses Walker who played MLB before black players were banned Aug 18 06, 10:54 AM

elburcher

1878 Bud Fowler is the first known professional black player on an integrated team when he plays in Lynn (IA) exhibition games. http://baseball-almanac.com/firsts/first8.shtml Aug 18 06, 11:07 AM

elburcher

05-01-1884 Moses Fleetwood Walker is the first black major league player and he goes 0-3 with Toledo of the American Association. http://baseball-almanac.com/firsts/first8.shtml Aug 18 06, 11:08 AM

Brainyblonde

Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker (October 7, 1857 in Mount Pleasant, Ohio - May 11, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio) was a baseball player and author who is credited with being the first African-American to play professional baseball at the major league level. http://www.answers.com/topic/moses-fleetwood-walker Jackie Robinson is the first black player to sign a formal / major league contract : Montreal Royals. http://baseball-almanac.com/firsts/first8.shtml Aug 18 06, 11:15 AM

zbeckabee

Interesting artice regarding one "William Edward "Bill" White," who played first base for the Providence Grays on June 21, 1879, possibly making HIM the first black major league baseball player. While no one knows how he batted or threw, or how big he was...what is known is that he was a student at Brown University and he was born in 1860. And then there's the issue that Morris, and others, are investigating . . . his father was apparently Andrew J. (or A.J.) White, a Caucasian resident of Pike County (named after the discoverer of Pike's Peak), Georgia. It is also thought that William Edward was born in Milner, GA. And, it's possible that his mother was Hannah White, who, in the terminology of the day, was described in the 1880 census as a "mulatto." http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_46255.asp Aug 18 06, 4:17 PM

Brainyblonde

William Edward White (1860-?) played as a substitute in one baseball game for the Providence Grays, on June 21, 1879. Recent work by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) suggests that he may have been the first African-American to play major league baseball, predating the longer career of Moses Fleetwood Walker by five years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Edward_White Aug 18 06, 5:38 PM