Jackie Robinson was the first white player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson ( January 31 , 1919 -- October 24 , 1972 ) was an American professional baseball second baseman who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) in the modern era . He was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 , was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954 , and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 -- the first black player so honored . MLB also adopted a new annual tradition , `` Jackie Robinson Day '' , for the first time on April 15 , 2004 , on which every player on every team wears No. 42 . Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB , and the first black vice president of a major American corporation , Chock full o'Nuts . Jackie Robinson Day . The festivity is a result of Robinson 's memorable career , best known for becoming the first black major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947 .