Almost every baseball fan has heard the story of Roosevelt Stadium's most famous day. At the Minor League ballpark in Jersey City, N.J. on April 18, 1946, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier by playing in the first integrated professional game in decades.Playing for the Triple-A Montreal Royals against the Jersey City Giants in front of a standing-room-only crowd of more than 25,000 -- the stadium's official capacity was 24,000 -- Robinson hit a three-run homer, scored four times, collected four RBIs, stole two bases and went 4-for-5. Twice Robinson scored by bouncing explosively off the third base bag and causing a Jersey City pitcher to balk. In his first game in the Dodgers organization, he led his team to a 14-1 victory.
But Robinson's breakthrough day was only the first pioneering performance at Roosevelt Stadium by an African American, making the ballpark, which has since been demolished, a significant piece of baseball, and cultural, history.
There is more on Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson and their performances at the now-demolished stadium. Plus, there is this interesting story:
On August 15, 1956 -- 10 years after Jackie Robinson played in his first professional integrated game -- the Dodgers, who were looking for a replacement for Ebbets Field, crossed the Hudson River to host the Giants at Roosevelt Stadium.
This time, though, Robinson had a game to forget. The Dodgers veteran went 0-for-4 and was booed by the 26,385 fans at the game. The "visiting" Giants had built a considerable fan base in Jersey City through their Minor League affiliate.
This guy named Willie Mays hit a long home run for the only run in a 1-0 win for the Giants.
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