Jackie Robinson (Equal Rights Leaders)

JACKIE ROBINSON EQUAL RIGHTS LEADERS Don McLeese

Vero Beach, Florida 32964

© 2003 Rourke Publishing LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. www.rourkepublishing.com PHOTO CREDITS: All photos courtesy of The Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY EDITOR: Frank Sloan COVER DESIGN: Nicola Stratford

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Printed in the USA MP/W

TABLE OF CONTENTS Jackie Breaks the Color Barrier Jackie’s Boyhood School Star Army Days Great Player Branch Rickey Major Leagues Most Valuable Player His Legend Lives On Glossary Index Further Reading/Websites To Visit

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Jackie Breaks the Color Barrier Jackie Robinson was the bravest baseball player ever. Before this African-American athlete joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, major league baseball players were all white. Many fans, other players, and even some of his own teammates hated Jackie, just because of the color of his skin. He earned their respect by playing hard and well.

Jackie with his Dodger teammates.

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Jackie’s Boyhood Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919. He was the youngest of five children. His grandfather had been a slave. Jackie’s dad was a farmer in Georgia. He left the family when Jackie was young. Then they moved to California. Jackie’s mother, Mallie Robinson, cleaned houses.

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Jackie played different sports as a boy.

School Star Jackie was a star athlete throughout his school days. In high school, he played baseball, football, basketball, and track. He was usually the best on every team. Jackie won a scholarship to the University of California at Los Angeles. He became the first student ever at UCLA to win varsity letters in four sports.

A college track star

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Army Days After he played football for the Honolulu Bears, Jackie was drafted into the army during World War II. African-Americans were treated unfairly in the army. They weren’t allowed to become officers and often had to stand during meals, while white soldiers sat. When he was asked to ride in the back of the army bus, Jackie refused.

Jackie in the Army.

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Great Player When he left the army, Jackie wanted to play baseball, but no major league teams would allow an African-American player. He became an all-star with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League. Jackie was a great hitter and fielder, and one of the league’s fastest runners. The Brooklyn Dodgers soon wanted him.

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Jackie makes the big leagues.

Branch Rickey In 1945, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers asked Jackie to become the first African-American in the major leagues. He told him everybody would pick on him, but he couldn’t fight back. Jackie asked if he wanted a player who was afraid to fight. Rickey said, “I’m looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back.” Jackie met his wife, Rachel, at UCLA and married her in 1946. They had three children.

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Branch Rickey with Jackie and Rachel Robinson.

Major Leagues Other teams voted not to let Jackie play. But people in baseball decided in 1947 that it was time to end the color barrier. Jackie had it tough. Pitchers threw the ball at his head. Fans called him names. Jackie played hard. He later said, “I never cared as much about acceptance as I cared about respect.”

Jackie as a Dodger favorite.

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Most Valuable Player By 1949, Jackie had become the best player in the National League, winning the batting title and the Most Valuable Player award. He used his fame to protest unfair treatment of other AfricanAmericans. After Jackie opened the door, black players such as Willie Mays and Ernie Banks soon became major-league stars.

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Jackie steals home.

His Legend Lives On Jackie quit baseball in 1957. He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He continued to speak out against unfair treatment for blacks until his death in 1972.

A hero to all races.

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Since Jackie, many of baseball’s greatest players have been African-Americans and Latin-Americans. Baseball fans will always remember Jackie as a hero.

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GLOSSARY African-American (aff RIH kun uh MARE ih kun) — black people, an American whose early relatives came from Africa baseball (BAYSE ball) — American sport with a bat, a ball, and nine players on a team color barrier (CULL ur BARE e ur) — a line that society says people of a certain color can’t cross, or a law preventing those people from doing things other people can Hall of Fame (HALL uv FAYM) — a place that honors the best people in a sport, art, or other field (for example, the Baseball Hall of Fame) Negro Leagues (NEE grow LEEGS) — baseball teams whose members were all African-Americans Slave (slayv) — someone owned by another person, made to work for no money. Slavery was outlawed in the United States after the Civil War in 1865.

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INDEX Baseball Hall of Fame birth Brooklyn Dodgers father and mother Most Valuable Player

Negro League Rickey, Branch UCLA World War II

Further Reading Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson. Holiday House, 1998. Dunn, Herb. Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer. Simon & Schuster Children’s, 1998. Rudeen, Kenneth. Jackie Robinson. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1996.

Websites To Visit www.afroam.org/history/Robinson/intro.html. www.sikids.com/shorter/stories/jackierobinson.html

About The Author Don McLeese is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in many newspapers and magazines. He is a frequent contributor to the World Book Encyclopedia. He and his wife, Maria, have two daughters and live in West Des Moines, Iowa.

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