Baseball's Color Barrier Broken in Nashua, NH (1946)
Updated: Jun 2, 2022
History of the breaking of the color barrier in professional baseball in the United
States: Holman Stadium, Nashua New Hampshire (1946)
In 1946, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed two African American players, then nearly unknown, and sent them to play for the Dodgers' minor league team, the “Nashua Dodgers." The players were Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella, While most of us are familiar with Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in the major leagues (1947), the Dodgers had sent Jackie Robinson to play minor league baseball in Montreal during that timeframe. Meanwhile, Newcombe and Campanella broke the color barrier in professional baseball in the United States right here in Nashua, NH.
In addition to the Baseball Hall of Fame recognition of this event, a distinguished plaque dedicated by the widows of Mr. Newcombe and Mr. Campanella was permanently installed at Holman Stadium in the early 1990s.
Newcombe and Campanella's uniform numbers are permanently retired at Holman Stadium, along with Jackie Robinson’s #42.
More details can be found on Minor League Baseball's website.
The 2022 Nashua NAACP Night at the Ballpark event on July 8th
is dedicated to Newcombe's and Campanella's accomplishments
and to the prominent part played by the city of Nashua in baseball history.
