Jackie Robinson: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)

When the Brooklyn Dodgers recruited Jackie Robinson from the Negro Leagues Kansas City Monarchs in 1947 it marked a turning point both in baseball and civil rights history. Robinson became the first African American to play in the Major Leagues and in doing so led generations of black players into the previously all-white world of professional baseball. As one of the greatest players professional baseball has ever seen Robinson fought fiercely for civil rights on and off the diamond throughout his lifetime and in doing so became a great American hero.Mary Kay Linge recounts the extraordinary story of Robinsons life-from his early childhood in the South to his college years at UCLA to becoming a Hall of Famer and a major figure in the NAACP. In analyzing the surrounding social and cultural contexts of Robinsons time this biography examines the legacy of a man who forever changed baseball. A timeline statistical appendix bibliography of print and electronic sources for further reading and photographs enhance this biography.