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I was born on January 31, 1919, and my hometown is 

Cairo, Georgia. When I was one year old, my family 

moved to Passadena, California.

I am the youngest of five children. My mother Mille 

raised four boys and one girl all by herself.

I love to play sports! It all started when my brothers 

excelled in sports and taught me how to play. I played 

baseball, football, basketball, tennis, and ran track.

I went to college at UCLA where I starred again in 

track, baseball, football, and basketball. I was the first 

athlete at UCLA to earn varsity letters in all four 

sports. 

       I also won the NCAA 

championship in the long 

jump!

When I played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, I worked so 

hard that I hit one out of the park and won the leagues 

MVP Award!

After I did all of those amazing accomplishments, teams 

that we were supposed to play never showed up for the 

game. People said mean things to me and threw things 

at me; they did that all because I was black.

One of the scariest fights I've ever came to know in my 

life happened when I was eight years old. 

I came across this white girl. Right then, she called me 

a bad name. I got really mad, and I yelled a name right 

back at her.

Her father 

stood up to 

me right away. 

He didn't think 

a black should 

stand up to a 

white. Then a 

rock fight 

started. No 

one can really 

win a rock 

fight, so the 

girl's mother 

had to come 

out and break 

it up. 

From 

that 

rock 

fight, I 

learned 

to 

stand 

up for 

myself.

After that, I was trying to hang out with a gang of poor 

black kids. We threw mud clumps at cars that were 

driven by whites.

Mr. Anderson, a good friend, pulled me aside. He was 

very calm as he told me.....

After I finished college, I went to play professional 

football. Once World War II started, I had to quit 

football because I was drafted to the army. 

After I did basic training, my friend "Joe Louis," helped 

me get accepted into officer training school!

One of my failures is that I didn't make it to the NFL.

At age 28, I became the first black player in the major 

leagues in 1947.

My awards were............

1947-Rookie of the Year.

1949-National Leagues Most Valuable Player.

Stole home 19 times setting a league record 

First African American athlete in MLB. 

I was the 

most 

remembered 

for paving the 

path for black 

athletes to be 

treated with 

respect. My 

career  

opened the 

door for other 

African 

American 

players.

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