Dates and Places
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia.
He died on October 24, 1972 in Stamford, Connecticut.
Jackie was famous because he was the first African American to play major league baseball.
Jackie and his family were black. Everywhere they lived people hated them because they were black. One of Jackie's sisters remembers that one side of the street where they lived was called the "white side of the street."
In college Jackie was the first person to star in four sports at his college.
Jackie signed a contract to play baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
On April 11, 1941, Jackie played in his first game as a professional. People booed him because he was black. He received many death threats on his life.
He was not allowed to go in hotels that his teammates were staying in. He had to stay in hotels for blacks. This was called segregation. Segregation is where whites and blacks don't eat, sleep, or do things together.
People, however, started to realize that he was one of the most talented players in the game.
He was elected to the baseball hall of fame in 1962.
In 1972 he died of a heart attack.
| Jackie Robinson, Aquila Primary Center, www.slpschools.org, . |
| (The title, name of this web site, address of this web site and the date you used this web site.) |
King, David. First Facts About American Heroes. 1996.
Jackie Robinson, http://www.auroraschool.org/WAMWEB/Robinson.htm, 2-6-2002.
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| Revised: 3-23-2002 | For information, contact John Dyer, Media Specialist, Aquila Primary Center. Copyright © 2001 John H. Dyer. Any use or redistribution of this information without permission is prohibited. |