Jackie Robinson was one of the greatest baseball players of all time--MLB Rookie of the Year, World Series Champion, six-time all-star, MVP, and a lifetime batting average of .311. But he is most remembered for breaking racial barriers by becoming the first African American to play in the major leagues since the 1880s.

This book traces Robinsons life, both on the field and his personal life--from his childhood and career in the military to his days in the Negro leagues and with the Brooklyn Dodgers; it also covers briefly his life after baseball.

LifeCaps is an...

When Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey decided to break the "color line" and integrate major league baseball in the 1940s, he spent years doing exhaustive background research and interviewing players. This role could not just go to an extraordinary athlete, but one of immense character as well

Things went down with integration in the National Basketball Association a bit differently. The NBA had only formed in 1946, and was still sorting out franchises and struggling for recognition on April 25, 1950 when the basketball owners sat down for the annual player...

The history of sports and race is messy. In baseball Jackie Robinson is universally touted as the first black major league player, which conveniently forgets Moses Fleetwood Walker and other players of color who appeared on 19th century diamonds.

Football deals with the messiness a different way. The sport employs the term "modern era" instead. So Kenny Washington is the first black player of the "modern era." James Harris was the first black quarterback to start an NFL game in the "modern era." Art Shell was the first black head coach of the "modern era." The reason football...