Jorge Pasquel brought racial integration to professional baseball and had a big role when Jackie Robinson debuted in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Pasquel and his brothers owned the Azules de Veracruz of the Mexican League and were minority owners in several other clubs.

As early as 1943, Pasquel had begun bringing players over from Negro league baseball (who were barred from MLB).

In 1946, American player Mickey Owen returned to the United States after playing briefly in the Mexican League.

[3] A long legal battle ensued, after which Owen was determined to owe Pasquel $35,000 for breach of contract.

Pasquel made headlines the next year when he gained distribution rights for the nation's oil from his cousin, Mexican president Miguel Alemán Valdés.