George Washington. Jackie Robinson. Neil Armstrong. Many men and women have immortalized themselves by being first—you’re first; you’re remembered.
That is, until you’re not.
In 1884—63 years before No. 42 stepped into a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform—Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker suited up for 42 games with the Toledo Blue Stockings, a professional club in the American Association (now the American League), becoming the first Black man to play in the major leagues. But even in the city where he played, Walker is often overlooked, says John Husman, a baseball historian and member of the Society for American Baseball Research.
