Jackie+Robinson

media type="youtube" key="cO_amK0VNXg" height="344" width="425" __Jackie Robinson__ By Sam Bluestein Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, GA in 1919. Jackie was the youngest of five children. Jackie’s grandfather was a slave and his dad was a farmer. His mom cleaned houses for other people. Jackie Robinson played baseball, football, basketball and ran track in high school. He didn’t get good grades in high school so he went to junior college to get better grades. After junior college he went to UCLA and kept playing baseball. After college he fought in the Army. He was such a good baseball player that he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 28, 1945. He was 26 years old when he began to play professional baseball and was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. Jackie broke the color barrier. Jackie Robinson thought that it wasn’t right that there were no tables for African Americans in restaurants. He would go in to the white section at movies or at lunch counters and won’t leave until he was served. He fought to get equal rights for other African Americans his whole life. Jackie played Major League Baseball for 12 years. Jackie helped other African Americans who wanted to play professional baseball. He retired in 1957. Jackie died in North Stamford, CT in 1972 when he was 53 years old. He is remembered for changing baseball forever. __Bibliography__ Adler, David A. __A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson.__ New York: Holiday House, 1994. Krull, Kathleen. __Lives of the Athletes.__ Singapore: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1995. McLeese, Don. __Jackie Robinson.__ Vero Beach: Rourke Publishing, 2003. Robinson, Sharon. __How Jackie Robinson Changed America.__ New York: Scholastic Press, 2004. Santella, Andrew. __Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Line.__ Danbury: Children’s Press, 1996.