<P> Walker played in the minor leagues until 1889 , and was the last African - American to participate on the major league level before Jackie Robinson broke baseball 's color line 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 . </P>
was the first african american man in decades to play in major league baseball
Jackie Robinson