On this episode of Our American Stories, Jackie Robinson didn’t plan to make history. He only wanted to play ball. But in a country that had barred Black baseball players for more than sixty years, that simple dream came with impossible expectations.

After a short stint in the Negro Leagues in Kansas City, he became the first to cross into the majors, carrying not only a bat but the burden of representing a nation’s progress. From racism on the field to isolation in the clubhouse, Robinson endured what few could. And because he did, the integration of Major League Baseball finally began.

Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, tells the story of one of America’s greatest players.

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