Jackie Robinson played his only year in the Negro leagues with black baseball's most storied team. Pitching greats Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith were teammates. On April 16 Jackie had a tryout with the Boston Red Sox, along with fellow Negro leaguers Sam Jethroe and Marvin Williams. Manager Joe Cronin did not appear interested in the proceedings, and neither Robinson nor the other players ever heard from the Red Sox again, leading Robinson to believe the tryout was a charade (the Red Sox would end up being the last MLB team to integrate). On August 28th, 1945 Jackie had his fateful meeting with the Dodgers managing partner Branch Rickey, and the rest is history.