Reference
- Jackie Robinson (1919–1972)Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919, and was raised in Pasadena, California. At UCLA he gained All-American honorable mention as a halfback, but he left college in his junior year to play professional football for the Los Angeles Bulldogs. After serving as an Army lieutenant during World War II, Robinson returned to civilian life with the hope of becoming a physical education coach. To achieve this, he felt he had to make a name for himself, and for this reason he decided to spend a few seasons in the Negro baseball league.
In 1945, while he was playing with the Kansas City Monarchs, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers assigned him to the Montreal Royals, the team's top farm club, where he was to be groomed for a career in the majors. On April 10, 1947, the Dodgers announced that they had purchased Robinson's contract, and the following day he began his major league career, thus breaking the league's “color barrier.” During a ten-year career, he hit .311 in 1,382 games with 1,518 hits, 947 runs, 273 doubles, and 734 RBIs. He stole home nineteen times, once in World Series play. He won the National League's most valuable player award in 1949 and played on six National League pennant winners, as well as one world championship team. Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
After his retirement from baseball Robinson became a bank official, president of a land development firm, and a director of programs to combat drug addiction. He died on October 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut.
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Perspectives
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson: A Life in American History provides readers with an understanding of the scope of Robinson's life and explores why no Major League Baseball player will ever again wear number 42 as his regular jersey number. This book captures Robinson's lifetime, from 1919 to 1972, while focusing on his connections to the unresolved promise of the Reconstruction Era and to the civil rights movement of the 20th century. In addition to covering Robinson's athletic career with the UCLA Bruins, the Kansas City Monarchs, the Montreal Royals, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, the book explores sociopolitical elements to situate Robinson's story and impact within the broader context of United States history. The book makes deliberate connections among the failure of Reconstruction, the creation of the Negro Leagues, the rise and decline of legalized segregation in the United States, the progress of the civil rights movement, and Robinson's life. Chronological chapters begin with Robinson's life before he played professional baseball, continue with an exploration of the Negro Leagues and Robinson's career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and conclude with an examination of Robinson's post-retirement life as well as his influence on civil rights. Supplemental materials including document excerpts give readers an opportunity to explore contemporary accounts of Robinson's career and impact. Provides readers with insight into the ways the unfulfilled promise of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras impacted areas of life beyond politics Provides readers with an understanding of how professional baseball reflects American society and vice versa Informs readers that Major League baseball in the 19th century experienced a period of integration before entering a prolonged period of segregation Demonstrates how the effort to reintegrate the Major Leagues was tied to World War II and to efforts to promote integration in other areas of American society Shows Robinson's significance both within and outside of the world of professional baseball
The Jackie Robinson Reader
Featuring contributions by Maury Allen, Red Barber, Arthur Mann, Malcolm X, Roger Kahn, and many others, The Jackie Robinson Reader gathers together writings, many of them previously unpublished, which demonstrate the cultural impact of the first black Major League baseball player's actions and the life of the man himself.
Jackie Robinson
Examines the athletic prowess of the first African American to play professional baseball.
Jackie Robinson Part 1
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Robinson rises from humble origins to integrate Major League Baseball, performing brilliantly despite the threats and abuse he faces on and off the field and, in the process, challenges the prejudiced notions of what a black man can achieve.
Jackie Robinson Part 2
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowRobinson uses his fame to speak out against injustice, alienating many who had once lauded him for "turning the other cheek." After baseball, he seeks ways to fight inequality, but as he faces a crippling illness, he struggles to remain relevant.
A Long Way From Home
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowA chronicle of the struggles and triumphs of the African-American and Latino players who followed Jackie Robinson into white professional baseball. Playing their minor-league ball in small, remote towns where racial segregation remained a fact of life well into the 1960s, these were the men who, before they could live their big-league dreams, first had to beat Jim Crow.
Online Resources
- The "strike" against Jackie Robinson: truth or myth?"A National League players' strike, instigated by some of the St. Louis Cardinals, against the presence in the league of Jackie Robinson, Negro first baseman, has been averted temporarily and perhaps permanently quashed."
That's the lede of Stanley Woodward's story in the New York Herald Tribune on May 9, 1947, four weeks after Robinson's debut on April 15. (1) The strike story has become part of the Robinson canon, a vivid illustration of the racist resistance he faced. It won the E.P. Dutton Award for best sports reporting of the year, and the writer Roger Kahn called it "the sports scoop of the century." The Cardinals' Enos Slaughter said of Woodward, "That son of a bitch kept me out of the Hall of Fame for twenty years." (2)
Yet hard evidence of a strike plot is lacking. Woodward's story was flawed, but his disciples--most prominently Kahn, author of The Boys of Summer--have defended his reporting for seven decades. Critics--led by St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg, who called the Tribune story "a barnyard vulgarism"-believe the "plot" was the product of some empty rants by players, plus a paranoid owner and a headline-seeking sportswriter. (3) Jules Tygiel, in his landmark book Baseball's Great Experiment, concluded that it was "an extremely elusive topic." (4) This review will explore the maze of conflicting evidence and try to arrive at the truth.
There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowNarrated by James Earl Jones, this hour long documentary, produced by Refocus Digital Media, LLC, chronicles the rich history of Black baseball and examines the re-integration of the game. There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues documents these athletes struggles and achievements. The film features interviews with baseball Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, James 'Cool Papa' Bell, Buck Leonard, Judy Johnson, Monte Irvin and Ray Dandridge. A classic film of its subject, the film chronicles the rich history of the Negro Baseball Leagues that flourished before Jackie Robinson integrated the major leagues in 1947. The exploits of these talented athletes and the times when baseball was a segregated sport are vividly brought to life. THERE WAS ALWAYS SUN SHINING SOMEPLACE contains rare historical footage showing the ballplayers as they traveled the backroads of America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America. It is an unforgettable journey.