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Jackie Robinson,the first Black baseball player leagues,became the first Black to compete in the World Series on this date in 1947.

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Jack Roosevelt Robinson (1919–1972), athlete and autobiographer. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in 1919 in Cairo, Georgia, and grew up in Pasadena, California. He was a star athlete in high school and junior college before becoming an athletic legend at the University of California at Los Angeles from 1939 to 1941, playing football, baseball, basketball, and competing in track and field. He joined the army in 1942 and was discharged as a lieutenant in 1945 after breaking a white bus driver’s jaw in a disagreement about moving to the back of the bus.

Robinson was selected by Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to become the first African American to play Major League baseball in the twentieth century. Entering the big leagues in 1947, Robinson had to abide by an agreement he made with Rickey not to be provoked to retaliation by taunts from white players and fans. Robinson endured racial epithets shouted by opposing players and patrons, segregated hotel and restaurant accommodations, balls thrown at his head by opposing pitchers, spiking incidents by opposing runners, volumes of hate mail, and a threatened strike by some white players including several on his own team. Nontheless, he performed brilliantly in the field and earned Rookie-of-the-Year honors in 1947. During his nine years with the Dodgers, Robinson also won a Most Valuable Player award and a batting title. He was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1962.

To learn more about this person visit your local library.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson

Positions: Second Baseman, Third Baseman and First Baseman

Bats: Right, Throws: Right

Height: 5′ 11″, Weight: 195 lb.

Born: January 31, 1919 in Cairo, GA

High School: Muir Technical (Pasadena, CA)

School: University of California, Los Angeles

Signed as a Free Agent with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. (All Transactions)

Debut: April 15, 1947

Team: Dodgers 1947-1956

Final Game: September 30, 1956

Inducted into the Hall of Fame by BBWAA as Player in 1962 (124/160 ballots).

Died: October 24, 1972 in Stamford, CT

Buried: Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY