Pasadena City College

'A very special person. Those (other) guys, none of them could have done it. Couldn't handle it. He just turned the other cheek. They'd knock him down ... I saw a pitcher knock him down four times. Couldn't care less. I mean, that's the way it went.' -- Rex Barney

"The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time." -- Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson Was Never Satisfied
The image is engraved in America's memory, the words written in America's soul: Jackie Robinson stealing home.
By Gary Hill

Baseball's Sublime Hero
The 1997 baseball season marked the fiftieth anniversary of the end of segregation in major league baseball. It was 1947 when Jackie Robinson made his historic debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
By David Conrads

Jackie Robinson signs a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 11, 1947 and becomes the first black player to play in a Major LeagueBaseball game on April 15.

No playoff series was necessary in 1947 as the Dodgers won the National League pennant by five games over the Cardinals. That was not the only big story in 1947. Jackie Robinson became the first black ever to play professional baseball. In 1945, Robinson had signed a professional contract with Dodger President and General Manager Branch Rickey.

http://www.dodgers.com/1940.html
© 1999 Los Angeles Dodgers Inc.

Rookie of the Year Award in 1947

Played in six World Series

National League Most Valuable Player award in 1949

The number he wore during his 10 years with the Brooklyn Dodgers--42--was permanently retired from use by all teams.

Jackie Robinson: Before Organized Baseball
Pasadena, California, 121 Pepper Street, was the urban environment. Mollie Robinson
and her five children constituted the familial environment. These made up the
environments that helped spawn Jack Roosevelt Robinson, the youngest of five children,
four boys and a girl, whom Mollie Robinson saved from object poverty in Cairo, Georgia
after her husband Jerry disappeared.

http://www.black-collegian.com/June97/baseball.htm
Copyright 1997 Black Collegiate Services Inc.

A tribute to Jackie Robinson from CBS SportsLine USA a leading Internet-based media company that provides sports related news, programming, and merchandise to sports enthusiasts worldwide.

http://www.sportsline.com/u/baseball/robinson/
Copyright © 1998 SportsLine USA

General Mills
NEWS RELEASES:

New York, NY 1/6/99:
Wheaties Celebrates 75 Years Consumers to vote for all-time favorite Wheaties champions, whose boxes will be re-released
[full story]

Minneapolis, MN 2/11/97:
Wheaties Pays Tribute To Hall Of Famer Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers great honored on commemorative Wheaties boxes 50 years after becoming first black major leaguer
[full story]

Beyond the Playing Field Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate

To the average man in the average American community,
Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he
was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play
baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that. . . . In
remembering him, I tend to de-emphasize him as a ball
player and emphasize him as an informal civil rights
leader. That's the part that drops out, that people forget.
-Rachel Robinson

http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/robinson/robmain.html

The Jackie Robinson Academy offers outstanding academic programs that provide constant challenge for
growth and support for learning. Teachers direct each child's curiosity and love of discovery to help him or
her develop the inner motivation that leads to high academic achievement.

http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us/robinson/homepage.htm

The Jackie Robinson Society is an organization devoted to preserving the memory and
spreading the legacy of Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play major league
baseball in the 20th Century. The JRS is an official student organization of the University of
Texas at Austin.

http://www.utexas.edu/students/jackie/

President Bill Clinton gave the following speech at Shea Stadium in New York on April
15, 1997. The Dodgers-Mets game was stopped after the fifth inning for a 50th
Anniversary ceremony featuring speeches by Clinton and Rachel Robinson.

http://www.utexas.edu/students/jackie/robinson/clinton.html

http://sma.ncsu.edu/Nubian/Archives/Fall1997/092597/Sports/jackierobinson.html

JACKIE ROBINSON

Athlete who broke major league baseball's color barrier. Born Jack Roosevelt Robinson on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Ga. Pasadena Junior College; University of California at Los Angeles, where he lettered in baseball, basketball, track, and football. Worked as an assistant athletic director to the National Youth Administration; played professional football for the Los Angeles Bulldogs (1941); entered Officers' Candidate School at Fort Riley, Kan. (1941), and served in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant during World War II. Coached basketball at Sam Houston College in Austin, Texas (1944-1945); signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the National Negro Baseball League (1945); met Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey (1945), and signed with the Dodgers farm team in the International League, the Montreal Royals, for a signing bonus of $3,500 and a $600-a-month salary; hit three singles, smashed a three-run homer, stole two bases and scored four runs in the Royals opening day 14-1 victory over the Jersey City Giants (1946), and led his team to the 1946 International League pennant, batting .349 driving in 66 runs, stealing 40 bases, scoring 113 runs, and fielding .985 at second base. Opened the season, playing the first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers, against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field (1947), becoming the first African-American baseball player with the majors in modern times; selected by the Baseball Writers Association as National League Rookie of the Year (1947), after batting .297, stealing 29 bases, scoring 125 runs, and helping the Dodgers get to the World Series; won the National League's MVP award (1949), with a .342 average, 37 stolen bases, 122 runs, and 124 RBIs ; led the Dodgers to six pennants; became the first African -American to be introduced into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1962). Died on October 24, 1972, in Stamford, Conn.

Jackie Robinson

PJC Bulldogs

Kansas City Monarchs

Dodgers