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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually in Major League Baseball, commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, Jackie Robinson Day is celebrated each year on the same date. The festivity is a result of Robinson's memorable career, best known for becoming the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947. His debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers (today known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) ended approximately eighty years of baseball segregation, also known as the baseball color line, or color barrier. He also was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, remembered for his services with the number 42 jersey. The gala is often celebrated at varied ballparks by Major League team players. Shea Stadium was one of the prominent venues hosting the event, having commemorated the retirement of Robinson's number 42 jersey in 1997. The numbered jersey is still worn to mark the event every year. Bob DuPuy, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Major League baseball, described Jackie Robinson Day as a significance "not only for baseball, but for our country in general." Jackie RobinsonThe first Jackie Robinson Day was on April 15, 2004. That day was a start to an annual tradition throughout Major League Baseball and an inspirational reminder about what happened on that day exactly fifty-seven years earlier when Jackie Robinson became a Major League Baseball player. The day would be the first official league-wide Jackie Robinson Day, having festivities taking place at all 13 ballparks where Major League games were scheduled to be played. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig made the announcement wit... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=19646390 ... Read more

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Chapters: Jackie Robinson. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 644. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Negro leagues Major League Baseball Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 October 24, 1972) was the first African-American Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to openly play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated African-Americans to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement. Apart from his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, he played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 the first black player so honored. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams. Robinson was also known for his pursuits outside the baseball diamond. He was the first African-American television analyst in Major League Baseball, and the first African-American vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned/controlled financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=16193 ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 ? August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. He served as Brooklyn Dodgers chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in 1947. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Missouri.For this, he was long vilified by Brooklyn Dodgers fans. However, neutral parties describe him as a visionary for the same business action, and many authorities cite him as one of the most influential sportsmen of the 20th century. ... Read more

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In this gripping account of one of the most important steps in the history of American desegregation, Jules Tygiel tells the story of Jackie Robinson's crossing of baseball's color line. Examining the social and historical context of Robinson's introduction into white organized baseball, both on and off the field, Tygiel also tells the often neglected stories of other African-American players--such as Satchel Paige, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron--who helped transform our national pastime into an integrated game. Drawing on dozens of interviews with players and front office executives, contemporary newspaper accounts, and personal papers, Tygiel provides the most telling and insightful account of Jackie Robinson's influence on American baseball and society. The anniversary issue features a new foreword by the author. 4 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Masterpiece
This is the seminal work on this subject and is important for an understanding of race relations in this country, as well as the transformation of baseball into the game as we know it today.

A must-read baseball classic
Author Jules Tygiel describes "Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy," as "Not a biography of Jackie Robinson, but rather a broad social history of the integration process in baseball."Naturally, Robinson plays a central role in the story.

In the afterword of the 25th anniversary edition of the classic work, Tygiel stresses that the book is also the history of the Negro Leagues, the campaign to end segregation in baseball, the experiences of other African Americans and non-White Hispanic players in both the minor and major leagues.

The segregation of baseball is a sad chapter in its history.In 1942, Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis said there was no rule of any kind prohibiting Negroes from playing in the major leagues.Baseball blamed other parties and circumstances beyond their control for the absence of Negroes in the majors.Baseball executive Larry MacPhail blamed the absence of Blacks on ignorant protesters, inadequate black athletes and the greedy Negro Leagues.

Unbelievably, in 1945 The Sporting News stated there was "not a single Negro player with major league possibilities."Around the same time, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller said he could not see any future in major league baseball for Jackie Robinson.

World War II and the integration of the armed forces was the watershed in the struggle for civil rights, according to Tygiel.The efforts of black sportswriters, the Communist Party and a handful of white sportswriters helped open the door to integration.

Robinson was the right man to integrate baseball because he was "tough, intelligent and proud."Under terrific pressure while playing for Montreal in the International League in 1946, Robinson passed the test with a superb performance.He led the league in batting average and runs and was second in stolen bases.

Robinson faced many challenges during his rookie season with the Dodgers in 1947, but he met them on and off the field.By the end of the year, he was voted Rookie of the Year and the second most popular man in America (only behind Bing Crosby) in a national poll.

Robinson opened the doors for players such as Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, Luke Easter, Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson.Many black players such as Piper Davis and Ray Danridge, however, were denied the full means of fame they deserved.

Even after Robinson broke the color barrier, black players had to endure discrimination and despicable behavior through the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in the minor leagues.As Tygiel notes, "most teams headed down the begrudging path to integration."

Every serious baseball fan should read this book.

BASEBALL'S GREAT EXPERIMENT
I RECEIVED THE BOOK IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND IN A TIMELY MANNER. GOOD JOB.
T[[ASIN:0195339282 Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy]
THANK YOU!

Baseball as History
This is the book from which John McCain and his ghost writer "borrowed" most of the content, both of facts and of rhetoric, for the first chapter of McCain's "Hard Call". The ghost does acknowledge Tygiel, but merely in passing.

And this is surely the deepest historical biography of any sports figure ever written. Jules Tygiel is a professor of history at San Francisco State University, and the author of a fine dispassionate biography of Ronald Reagan, as well as the book "Baseball As History", which quite brilliantly examines the culture of America in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries through the lens of baseball.

You can read "Baseball's Great Experiment" simply for pleasure, as a baseball lover, or you can read it for historical insight, which it offers aplenty. It's a great irony that baseball and the army were integrated meaningfully long before corporate business, the mainline Christian churches, the federal bureaucracy, or academia!

Tygiel writes firm straight-forward prose, with a minimum of sermonizing (McCain's big fault as a writer) or academic pomposity. His portrayals of Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson are well-rounded and believable, with both their strengths and their weaknesses. Even if you have a total indifference to baseball, you'll find the human drama fascinating.

As for yours truly... Do it again, Red Sox!

Real Eye-Opener
THis is a wonderful book that I can't praise enough.If you - like me - have been putting off reading about Jackie Robinson and the other black baseball pioneers of the late 1940's and 1950's, this is the book for you. It's a shocking description of just what life was like for blacks at that time. It's a real eye-opener that needs to be read by all baseball fans and all students of American history. ... Read more

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The first black man to play professional baseball, Jackie Robinson helped break down walls of segregation in many walks of life. His biography is the story of one man's struggle to overcome great odds through hard work, skill and courage. Original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

The First African American
Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man In Baseball is a biography about how he became the first African-American to play in the MLB.It starts out in Jackie's childhood in Georgia.When he was a kid he was good at all different kinds of sports such as basketball and track.When he played sports he always picked the little kids who weren't as great as everyone else so he could help them improve.Every kid on the block wanted to play on his team.
I think Margaret Davidson's message was you can do what ever you set your mind to.Meaning if you want to be the first woman in the MLB you can.You just have to be ready for what's in store for you just like Jackie.
I liked this book a lot becausebaseball is my favorite hobby.I also like to read about some of my favorite baseball players.I loved this so much because I can relate to a lot of this book.And I got to learn all about the great Jackie Robinson.

Jackie Robinso Review ...
The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball is about the struggles of one black man who never gave up.Jackie Robinson was a great athlete in college but he couldn't play Major League baseball because of the color of his skin.When Jackie Robinson played on the Brooklyn Dodgers he was part of the "Noble Experiment" and his teammates were unfriendly.Also fans yelled slurs at Jackie.In 1947 Jackie Robinson won Rookie of the year and the admiration of the American people.I recommend this book because it tells how Jackie Robinson was a great athlete and a brave person.

Jackie Robinson Review By: Melanie
The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man In Baseball is about a black man who never gave up. Although Jackie Robinson was a great college athlete he couldn't play in the Major Leagues because he was black. This was very unfair but one luckily day Jackie met a man named Branch Rickey who thought black men should be able to play baseball with white men. Branch Rickey was the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and was willing to let Jackie on the team. This made Jackie very pleased.However, the Brooklyn Dodgers were not very kind to Jackie.But he lived through all this and won many different titles.I think you should read this book because it tells a true story about an African American hero!

Jackie Robinson Review ...
The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man in Baseball is about the struggles of one black man who made a big difference.Jackie Robinson was a great athlete in college but was not let into the Major Leagues because his skin was black.Robinson played on the Brooklyn Dodgers in the "Noble Experiment" which was meant Jackie being the first black on a white team.His team looked down on him because of the color of his skin.When the fans yelled slurs at him and other teams yelled at him it overwhelmed the Dodgers.They finally stood up for Robinson.I recommend this wonderful book, Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man in Baseball because it has a lot of action and emotion.

Jackie Robinson Review ...
The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man in Baseball is about the struggles of one black man who never gave up.Jackie Robinson was a great athlete in college and wanted to go to the Major's but they wouldn't let him because he was black.The general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey took a chance on Jackie.Rickey said would let him play if he didn't fight back over racial slurs and attacks.This was known as the "Noble Experiment".Jackie's team looked down on him and fans harassed him because of the color of his skin.At last everybody realized Robinson was a great guy and that the color of a person's skin doesn't mater. In the end Jackie Robinson won the admiration of all American people.I think that you should read this book because it shows someone with great courage. ... Read more

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Illus. in full color with black-and-white photos. "Covers not only the story of Robinson's prowess and his problems as the first black man to play in the major leagues, but also the story of the rise and fall of black baseball and some of its star players and managers. Nicely geared by vocabulary, sentence length, and print size to the primary grades audience."--Bulletin, Center for Children's Books. ... Read more

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Discusses ways for Little League players to improve their baseball skills. ... Read more

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Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, changing the great American sport forever and inspiring future generations to emulate his courage, his commitment and his decency.

No other book about Jackie Robinson presents him as fully and truthfully as How to Be Like Jackie Robinson and none is as uplifting. Drawing on more than 1,100 interviews with Jackie’s family and friends, his teammates and opponents, and the people whose lives he touched and shaped, Pat Williams shows how Jackie’s life and the values he embodied serve as models for us all. Each example of Jackie’s courage and character will inspire you to live each day with the same
commitment to decency and humanity.

“He had a fire in him. His whole life, he believed if things were wrong, he wanted to change them. He had a strong belief in himself and in what was right, and he was not going to tolerate injustices to people. Jackie Robinson couldn’t stand being on the sidelines and being left out of the action.”
-Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson

“Jackie Robinson was my hero. Jackie was a gifted athlete, but he was a man of integrity.”
-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hall of Fame basketball player

“I loved Jackie Robinson. You remembered him if you ever met him. He had that kind of impression on you for the rest of your life. If you list the fifty or 100 most significant Americans of all time, Jackie Robinson has to be on the list.”
-Dave Anderson, author and New York Times sports columnist