Major League Baseball marks 67th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking color barrier

FILE - In this June 30, 1971, file photo, Jackie Robinson poses at his home in Stamford, Conn. Baseball holds tributes across the country on Jackie Robinson Day, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, the 67th anniversary marking the end of the game's racial barrier. (AP Photo/File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this 1952 file photo, Brooklyn Dodgers baseball player Jackie Robinson poses. Baseball holds tributes across the country on Jackie Robinson Day, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, the 67th anniversary marking the end of the game's racial barrier. (AP Photo/File) (The Associated Press)

Rev. Jesse Jackson is helping Major League Baseball mark the 67th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, praising Commissioner Bud Selig for the strides the sport has taken in minority opportunities over the past two decades.

Jackson traveled to baseball's 1992 winter meetings to criticize its lack of minorities in management, and he pushed for change.

Selig retired Robinson's No. 42 in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of the big league debut of the Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman. Selig established a Diverse Business Partners program the following year and in 1999 started requiring clubs to consider at least one minority for each manager and major executive opening. MLB also sponsors 35 Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars.

Jackson says Tuesday that Jackie Robinson Day has become "a national holiday for all practical purposes."