Frank Watson: Baseball Got it Right

When Branch Rickey decided to challenge baseball’s color line in 1947, he had no idea that Jackie Robinson would become a national hero.

That was not his intention.

He simply wanted the Brooklyn Dodgers to be the best possible baseball team and realized that many of the best players in the country were black.

Most other teams quickly followed suit and black players were soon recognized for their playing ability rather than the color of their skin.

Four black players earned their positions on the 1949 all-star team and within 10 years the percent of major league players who were black was repre...