Jackie Robinson
The man who broke baseball's color line and changed America.
via Wikipedia: The Jackie Robinson Story · see source
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
Quick Facts
- Writer
- Arthur Mann; Lawrence Taylor
- Starring
- Jackie Robinson
- Ruby Dee
- Minor Watson
- Director
- Alfred E. Green
- Producer
- Mort Briskin; William J Heineman (United Artists)
- Cinematography
- Ernest Laszlo
- Editing
- Arthur H. Nadel
- Music
- Herschel Burke Gilbert
- Studio
- Jewel Pictures
Lore & Background
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson was raised in Pasadena, California. A four-sport student athlete at Pasadena Junior College and UCLA, he was better known for football than baseball, becoming a star with the UCLA Bruins football team. After college, he was drafted for World War II but was court-martialed for refusing to sit at the back of a segregated Army bus, eventually being honorably discharged. He then signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues, where he caught the eye of Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons (1949–1954), and won the NL MVP in 1949—the first Black player so honored. He played in six World Series (1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956) and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 in his first year of eligibility. Robinson also worked as a baseball commentator in 1965 and became the first Black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank. After his death in 1972, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number, 42, across all Major League teams; he was the first professional athlete in North American major professional sports to be so honored. MLB also adopted 'Jackie Robinson Day' on April 15, 2004.
Reader's Guide
Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement.
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