Robinson started at first base when he broke MLB’s modern color line.
On April 15, 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers placed Robinson at first base against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. His appearance ended roughly six decades of exclusion that had kept Black players out of organized professional baseball.
The position can cause confusion because Robinson had been a shortstop in the Negro leagues and later became famous as a second baseman. During his 1946 season with the Montreal Royals, he initially played shortstop before moving to second base. In Brooklyn, however, Eddie Stanky was established at second, so Robinson opened his first major-league season at first base.
Robinson did not record a hit in his MLB debut, but he reached base on a throwing error and scored the winning run in a 5–3 victory. He went on to win the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award, become the National League MVP in 1949, and help the Dodgers win the 1955 World Series.