奇速英语

Jackie Robinson (1919—1972),was the first black baseball player to play in the American major leagues (大联盟) during the 20th century.

Robinson was an outstanding all-around athlete at the University of California. Yet in 1941 he had to drop out of the university to help his mother support the family. He entered the U.S. Army in 1942 and became a second lieutenant (少尉) in 1943. However, he had to leave the army because he refused to follow an order that a black person like him should sit at the back of the army bus. This might be one of the reasons for his future fight for human rights.

Upon leaving the army, Robinson played baseball in a black league team, where he drew the attention of the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey. Robinson’s talents on the field, his honesty, and his caring for family all satisfied Rickey. In 1947, Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black player in the major leagues and breaking the 63-year-old “color line”. He achieved quick success on the field and became the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1949. From 1947 through 1956, he led the Dodgers to six league championships and one World Series victory.

The road to success is never smooth. At first, because of his color, Robinson was treated unfairly by baseball fans, players on opposite teams, and even his teammates. He wrote in his book, “Plenty of times I wanted to leave, but I had to hold to myself. I know that I am a black man in a white world. The whole thing is bigger than myself.”

After retiring (退役) from baseball in 1957, Robinson went on working for human rights. He was a spokesman for the NAACP and made appearances with Martin Luther King. In 1962, Robinson became the first black person to be introduced into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1984, Robinson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for an American.