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Jackie Robinson
The first African-American Player in Major League Baseball
Created by Janice PickettBibb County Public Schools, 2006
Jackie Robinson
• He was born on January 31, 1919 near Cario, Georgia.
• In May, 1920 he moved to California with his mother.
What did the Robinsons find in California?
• The public pool was open only one day a week to black people.
• In the movie theaters, blacks had to sit separately from the whites. Blacks had to sit in the balcony.
What did Jackie do when he got older?
• In high school Jackie Robinson starred in track and field, football, basketball, and baseball. At the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) he was a football hero.
Was the Army fair to black men when Jackie was a soldier?
• Jackie could not be on the army baseball team because he was black.
• The army restaurant had a separate sections for black and white soldiers.
• Black soldier were turned down when they first applied to officers school.
• Sometimes black soldier were told to go to the back of the bus.
Jackie and the Army
• In August 1944, Jackie Robinson was court-martialed – put on trial by the army- for not showing respect to an officer.
• He was judged to be innocent because he had not broken any rules.
• He decided to leave the Army because he did not think they were fair.
Professional Baseball
• In 1945, professional baseball was a segregated sport. Black men played on black teams and white men played on white teams.
• Jackie Robinson played shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro League.
• He was a good player. He could hit the ball and run fast.
Brooklyn Dodgers
• The Brooklyn Dodgers was a white team.
•
• The president of the Dodgers wanted baseball teams that were open to all good players, black and white.
• The president asked Jackie Robinson to play for the Dodgers.
Do not fight back!
• The president told Jackie that he could expect trouble. But he wanted a ballplayer who would not fight back.
Jackie’s Trouble
• Jackie could not stay in the same hotels as his white teammates.
• He could not eat in the same restaurants.
• Some ballplayers wanted to stop playing.
• Some ballplayers insulted and kicked Jackie.
• Nobody thought blacks and whites could play together.
Jackie Wins
• Jackie Robinson won the Rookie of the Year for being the best first year player in the major league in 1947.
• In 1949 he was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the National League.
The Best Award
• Jackie Robinson was the first African –American inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Equal Rights
• Jackie Robinson retired from baseball but worked hard to get equal rights for African-Americans. His playing baseball was the important 1st step.