(WSIL) -- Major League Baseball marked the 73rd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier this weekend.
On April 15, 1947 Robinson became the first Black player since Moses 'Fleetwood' Walker in 1889 to set foot on a major league field.
Two years earlier a MLB scout born and raised in southern Illinois would analyze Robinson's prowess at the plate and cement Robinson's destiny.
was born in 1896 in Raleigh, Illinois. Raleigh is located in Saline County and was once the county seat until the late 1850s. Matthews and his family relocated to Metropolis when he was still a baby according to the Society for American Baseball Research.
Matthews' lasted three seasons. Matthews played 53 games, starting 41, for the 1924 Washington Senators. The team went on to win the World Series in a seven-game thriller over the New York Giants that fall.
Matthews was sent to the minor leagues before the team competed in the postseason and was still awarded a partial bonus.
After his playing career Matthews moved on to become a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals under general manager Branch Rickey, considered to be the pioneer and father of the modern day farm system.
When Rickey left to the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1940s Matthews followed suit. In the summer 1945 Matthews, then one of Rickey's most trusted scouts, observed Robinson's play.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Matthews wrote that Robinson 'can protect the strike zone better than any other young ballplayer I've ever seen.'
Rickey would later sign Robinson to a minor league contract in October 1945 with Robinson debuting at first base with the Dodgers less than two years later.
After leaving the Dodgers, Matthews left to become general manager of the Chicago Cubs. While the Cubs played through multiple losing seasons under Matthews tenure the team was able to sign its first Black player: future hall of famer Ernie Banks.
Matthews later became assistant general manager for the newly-formed New York Mets, helping build the inaugural team from scratch. Matthews then became a scout for the California Angels and died in 1965 shortly after the season.