In 1884, African American Moses Walker (and, briefly, his brother Welday) had played for
the Toledo Blue Stockings of the major-league-level American Association. An injury
ended Walker's major league career, and by the early 1890s, a "gentlemen's agreement" in
the form of the baseball color line effectively barred African-American players from the
majors and their affiliated minor leagues, resulting in the formation of several Negro
Leagues. The first crack in the agreement occurred in 1946, when Jackie Robinson was
signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league
team in Montreal. Finally, in 1947, the major leagues' color barrier was broken when
Robinson debuted with the Dodgers. Although the transformation was not instantaneous,
baseball has since become fully integrated.
