A Long Way from Brooklyn: Baseball's Integration in the Midwest

Abstract

During the years 1947 through 1957 significant events on baseball fields directed the path Americans took in the civil rights movement. A significant number of texts have been published on the integration of baseball but little research has been conducted on baseball's integration in the Midwest. Jackie Robinson is credited with breaking baseball’s color barrier by first appearing in a Brooklyn Dodgers’ uniform on April 15, 1947. Robinson's debut received media coverage in the Midwestern states of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. These same newspapers also covered the African-American ball players who integrated semi-pro and minor league teams in the Midwest. This thesis is directed by the research question of how baseball’s integration was covered by the press at regional and national levels.