Jackie Robinson

Jack "Jackie" R. Robinson was an American baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. The "Color Line" was a tacit racial segregation policy in American baseball that excluded players of Black African descent from Major League Baseball. Robinson broke the Color Line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947.

In addition to his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams; he was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honored. Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, Major League Baseball has adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", on which every player on every team wears #42. Robinson died on October 1972, aged 53.

Google Images: Jackie Robinson

---

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson