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New Hampshire town recognized for role in racially integrating baseball

NASHUA, N.H. — The conversation around racial integration in baseball often revolves around Jackie Robinson, who broke the major league color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

But a year earlier, history was being made in the small town of Nashua, New Hampshire. It was here that Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Don Newcombe would join the Nashua Dodgers, making the minor league club the first racially integrated baseball team in the United States.

They played at the 86-year-old Holman Stadium, which will celebrate their achievements Tuesday night by adding the venue to a stop on the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.