Jackie Robinson

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He was a star player. Branch Rickey met Jackie. Branch ran the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was a Major League team. He wanted.
Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia. It was January 31, 1919. Jackie went to college. He broke three school records. He lettered in four sports. This was a first at his school.

Facing Unfairness Jackie left college. He joined the army. It was World War II. African American troops were not treated like white troops. He knew it was not fair. At that time, Major League Baseball had just white players. Jackie played in the Negro League. He was a star player. Branch Rickey met Jackie. Branch ran the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was a Major League team. He wanted Jackie to play for his team. He said that people would be cruel. But Jackie could not fight back. He must stay calm. Jackie said okay. Jackie walked onto the field in 1947. Fans and players booed. They shouted bad names. But Jackie just played his best.

117 © Shell Education

#50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

Some players were mean. They hit him. They swore at him. Some tried to kick him with spiked shoes! Jackie stayed calm. He did not shout. He did not swear. He wanted to show that black and white players could work together.

A Great Career Jackie was a great hitter. He stole a lot of bases. He won the first Rookie-of-the-Year award. It goes to the best new player. Jackie was one of the best players ever. He won the Most‑Valuable-Player award. He led his team to six pennants (PEN-uhnts). Those are big wins. He helped the Dodgers win the World Series! Jackie showed that he should be in the Major League. Jackie was put in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He died 10 years later.

What Did You Learn? How did Jackie Robinson use baseball to help African Americans? 118 #50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

© Shell Education

Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia. The date was January 31, 1919. If he tried a sport, he was good at it. Jackie went to college. He broke records in three sports. He was first to earn a varsity letter in four sports at his college.

Facing Unfairness Jackie left college early. He left to join the army. It was World War II. He saw that African American troops were not treated the same as white troops. He knew it was not fair. At that time, Major League Baseball had just white players. Jackie played in the Negro League. He was a star player. Jackie met Branch Rickey. Branch ran the Brooklyn Dodgers. He asked Jackie to play Major League Baseball. He told Jackie that if people were cruel, he could not fight back. He would have to stay calm. Jackie said yes. Jackie walked onto the field in 1947. Many fans and players booed. They shouted bad names. But Jackie played his best. 119 © Shell Education

#50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

Yet some of the other players treated him badly. They hit him. They swore at him. A few tried to kick him with spiked shoes! Jackie stayed calm. He had to show that black and white players could play together.

A Great Career Jackie was a great hitter. He stole a lot of bases. He was the first person to win the Rookie-of-the-Year award. It goes to the best new player. Jackie was one of the best players ever. He won the Most‑Valuable-Player award. He led his team to six pennants (PEN-uhnts). These were big wins. His team even won the World Series! Jackie showed that he should be in the Major League. Jackie was put in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He died 10 years later.

What Did You Learn? How did Jackie Robinson use baseball to help African Americans’ rights? 120 #50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

© Shell Education

Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia on January 31, 1919. He was good at every sport he tried. Jackie worked hard to get into college. There, he played many sports. He broke records in basketball, football, and track. He was the first person to earn a varsity letter in four sports at his college.

Facing Unfairness Jackie left college early. He left to join the army in World War II. Jackie saw that African American soldiers were not treated the same as white soldiers. At that time, African Americans were not allowed to play on sports teams with white players. Major League Baseball was open to white players only. Jackie played in the Negro League. He was one of the star players. In 1945, Jackie met Branch Rickey. Branch ran the Brooklyn Dodgers. He asked Jackie to play Major League Baseball. He told Jackie that when people were cruel, he couldn’t fight back. He would have to stay calm. Jackie agreed. When Jackie appeared on the field in 1947, many fans and players booed. They called him bad names. But Jackie trained hard and played his best. 121 © Shell Education

#50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

Yet some of the other players treated Jackie badly. They hit him and swore at him. A few tried to kick him with spiked shoes! Jackie never fought back. He didn’t call people bad names. He wanted to prove that black and white players could play ball together.

A Great Career Jackie played first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was a great hitter. He was good at stealing bases, too. Jackie was the first person to win the Rookie-of-the-Year award. It is given to the best new player. Jackie was one of the best players in baseball. He had a lifetime batting average of .311. He won the Most-Valuable-Player award. He led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six pennants (PEN-uhnts). These were big wins. The team even won the World Series! Jackie proved that he deserved to be in the Major League. Jackie made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He died 10 years later.

What Did You Learn? How did baseball help Jackie Robinson advance African Americans’ rights? 122 #50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

© Shell Education

Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia on January 31, 1919. He was good at every sport he tried. In college, Jackie played many sports. He broke records in basketball, football, and track. He was the first person to earn a varsity letter in four sports at his college.

Facing Unfairness Jackie left college early to join the military in World War II. He saw that African American soldiers were not treated the same as white soldiers. At that time, African Americans were not allowed to play on sports teams with white players. Major League Baseball only allowed white players. Jackie was a star player in the Negro League. In 1945, Jackie met Branch Rickey who ran the Brooklyn Dodgers. He wanted African Americans to play baseball with white players. He asked Jackie to play Major League Baseball for the Dodgers. He told Jackie that when people were cruel, he couldn’t fight back. He would have to stay calm no matter what occurred. Jackie agreed. When Jackie first appeared on the field in 1947, fans and players booed. They called him bad names. They did not want him to play on a white baseball team. But they soon found out that Jackie was an excellent player. 123 © Shell Education

#50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

Even so, some of the other players treated Jackie badly. They hit him and swore at him. A few tried to kick him with spiked shoes! Jackie never fought back. He didn’t yell or call people names.

A Great Career Jackie was a great hitter and he excelled at stealing bases. Jackie was the first person ever to win the Rookie-of-the-Year award, which goes to the best new player. Jackie was one of the best baseball players ever. He won the Most‑Valuable-Player award. He led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six pennants (PEN-uhnts), which were major wins. They even won the World Series! By then, no one could deny that Jackie deserved to be in the Major League. Jackie made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He died 10 years later.

What Did You Learn? How did Jackie Robinson use baseball as a forum for social change? 124 #50894—Leveled Texts: American Biographies

© Shell Education