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Born: January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia.
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First black player in major league baseball. Played football with Honolulu Bears, 1941; played on Kansas City Monarchs baseball team, Negro National League,
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From 1942 to 1944, Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.
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owners and sportswriters were against this integration, claiming that it would destroy major league baseball, but both Rickey and Robinson were confident of the move
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His successful year led to his promotion with the Dodgers, and subsequently, his history-making designation as the first African-American player in Major League Baseball.
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He never saw combat, however. During boot camp in 1944 in Fort Hood
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Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler, Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg and Dodgers shortstop and team captain Pee Wee Reese.
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1945; signed with Montreal Royals, late 1945; professional baseball player with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1947-56. Had career batting average of .311 with the Dodgers; compiled .333 batting average as National League All-Star; helped Dodgers win six National League pennants and one World Series.
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Robinson signed a contract with Rickey to play for one of the Dodgers' farm teams, the Montreal Royals in the International League.
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Others defended Jackie Robinson's right to play in the major leagues, including League President Ford Frick,
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He joined the all-white Montreal Royals, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1946.
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In one incident, while fans harassed Robinson from the stands, Reese walked over and put his arm around his teammate, a gesture that has become legendary in baseball history.
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1947; led league in stolen bases, 1947 and 1949
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Robinson later moved to Florida to begin spring training with the Royals, and played his first game in Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947—becoming the first black player to compete in the major leagues.
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Robinson began playing in the Negro Leagues, but he was soon chosen by Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to help integrate major league baseball
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In his first year, he hit 12 home runs and helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant
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National League MVP, 1949
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1949-54; NAACP Spingarn Medal, 1956; elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, 1962.
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died of a heart attack