He was the first in the 'Modern era', not the first in the majors.
Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker (October 7, 1856 – May 11, 1924) was an American professional baseball catcher who is credited with being the first openly black athlete to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Mount Pleasant, Ohio, and a star athlete at Oberlin College as well as the University of Michigan, Walker played for semi-professional and minor league baseball clubs before joining the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association (AA) for the 1884 season.
Though research suggests William Edward White was the first African-American baseball player in MLB, unlike White who passed as a white man, Walker was open about his black heritage, and often faced racial bigotry prevalent in the late 19th century. His brother, Weldy, became the second black athlete to do so later in the same year, also for the Toledo ball club. Walker played just one season, 42 games total, for Toledo before injuries entailed his release.
Walker played in the minor leagues until 1889, and was the last African-American to participate on the major league level before Jackie Robinson in 1947. After his baseball career, he became a successful businessman and inventor. As an advocate of Black nationalism, Walker also jointly edited a newspaper, The Equator, with his brother. He published a book, Our Home Colony (1908), to explore ideas about emigrating back to Africa. He died in 1924 at the age of 67.
red
“He was the first in the ‘Modern era’, not the first in the majors.”
True.
Interestingly enough, the first black player in the modern era could well have been Larry Doby or Monte Irvin had it not been for World War II. But many of the most talented black ballplayers were still overseas (Doby serving as a sailor in the Pacific, and Irvin an Army engineer in Europe). Had Robinson not been discharged early, we could be celebrating “Larry Doby Day” today.