The movie 42 focuses on the 1947 Major League baseball season in which Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey makes a bold move to shatter the color barrier in baseball. Rickey signs Jackie Robinson, making Robinson the first African American to play professional baseball in the "big leagues." Robinson’s transition into the all-white league is not without difficulties. Robinson’s experience during his first season closely resembles the daily struggle experienced by blacks in a segregated America. He faces continuous racism, hatred, and threats to both himself and his family from teammates, opponents, and fans alike. To African Americans, Robinson is a hero, a symbol of the great potential that African Americans have if only given the chance. During that 1947 season Robinson helps the Dodgers win the National League pennant and advance to the World Series. Robinson wins the 1947 Rookie of the Year award, and his jersey number, 42, is still the only number retired by all of professional baseball. Since 2011, affirming Pee Wee Reese's line in the film that “one day maybe we will all wear 42 so they can’t tell us apart,” on April 15 all uniformed personnel in major league ballparks have worn Jackie's No. 42.