Although Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play a major league game in 1947, he had already broken another significant color barrier the year prior as a member of the Montreal Royals, the AAA farm team of the Dodgers. Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, 1946, in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers. Robinson thus simultaneously became the first black player to openly play for a minor league team and against a major league team since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s.
Jackie was 4 for 5 on the day with a three-run home run, making quite the impression with his teammates, fans, and members of his future team the Brooklyn Dodgers.
