Atlanta Braves History: Sam Jethroe — He’s our Jackie Robinson
By Fred Owens
The franchise now known as the Atlanta Braves added the first African American player to their Major League roster three years after the Dodgers broke the color barrier — they should have done it sooner.
The Atlanta Braves franchise is not only the oldest continuously operating franchise in baseball, but also played a part in many of baseball’s impactful historical events. Unfortunately, they weren’t the first to add an African-American player, but Jackie Robinson played his first game against the Braves on April 15, 1947.
Two and a half years later, on October 4, 1949, the Boston Braves sent Al Epperly, Dee Phillips, Don Thompson, and considerable cash to the Dodgers for two rookie outfielders.
The deal foreshadowed the braves forced rejigging their roster the team wanted to get younger, but it also wanted to remove players who were openly unhappy with manager Billy Southworth.
The Braves had traded center fielder Johnny Hopp after the 1947 season and pieced center together in 1948. They tried that plan again in 1949 with less success.
The youngest of the new Braves outfielders, 24-year-old Bob Addis, played 101 games for Boston over two seasons. His only claim to fame, and the play that gave him a permanent place in baseball history, came on September 9, 1951, when he slid under Dodger catcher Roy Campanella’s tag.
The umpire called him safe, and the Dodgers went crazy, and that call became known as The Call Heard’ Round The World because it forced the Dodgers into a one-game playoff with the Giants, and that didn’t end well for Brooklyn.
For the Braves, Addis was bench depth. They really wanted the Dodgers 32-year old centerfield prospect, Sam Jethroe.