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Before long, the Brooklyn Dodgers invited him to join their organization. They had spent some time watching Jackie and had found that not only was he an amazing player, but he was also a man who would remain calm in the face of racial prejudice. Jackie played for the Dodgers training teams for a while before he was called up to play his first professional game on April 15, 1947. Over 14,000 of the 26,623 spectators were African-Americans.

Jackie didn't even get a base hit, but the Dodgers won. Much of America debated the issue of a black man playing professional baseball, and there was a lot of opposition to it. While some people accepted him, others didn't. Some of his teammates, in fact, objected to having an African-American play on their team. Before the problem blew up, Dodgers management told the team that if they didn't want to play with Jackie, they would be released from the team.

In 1947, Jackie was the leader in stolen bases, hit nearly a .300 and won the very first-ever Rookie of the Year award. In 1948, he had an injury that made things difficult. In that same year, a few other African-Americans started playing professional baseball. 1949 was Jackie's breakout year. He won Most Valuable Player, was the leader in batting average and stole 37 bases. He had a song written about him. He even starred in a movie that was about himself. The following years continued to be successful for Jackie, as he was paid more than any other player on the Dodgers. In 1955, he was a part of the Dodgers world championship season.

In 1962, Jackie Robinson was honored by being the first ever African-American to be voted into baseball's Hall of Fame.

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