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.

• Some people cursed the Robinsons and threw rocks at them.

What did Jackie like to do?

• Jackie loved to play games and sports. He liked to win.

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.

Jackie is a soldier.

• World War II started in 1941.

• Jackie was drafted into the army in 1942.

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.

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• 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.

Review

• Watch and listen.

Review

• Who was the first black baseball player?

•Jackie Robinson

Review

• True or False

• A black baseball player helped the civil rights movement get started.

•True