Honored all around Major League Baseball, everyone wears #42. It's hard to put into words just how much he meant to American society in 1947. There would be no Ali, there would be no Tommy Smith and John Carlos, there would be no civil rights movement without him. I can't imagine going through what he did. Look up the life and career of Branch Rickey while you're at it. A pivotal moment in American race relations, but American history moreso. I suggest everyone watches this: http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/jackie-robinson/
