[...]... bills, although many 21 22 Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson heads off to practice at UCLA His sports success made him a campus celebrity, but he decided to leave college after two years “I was convinced that no amount of education would help a black man get a job,” Robinson wrote in his memoir about that era From College to the Military people—Rachel, the Reverend Downs, and Mallie Robinson herself—tried... education teacher at the college Robinson moved there by Christmas of 1944 A month earlier, he had met Ted Alexander, a soldier stationed at Camp Breckinridge in Kentucky, who had played baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs, part of the Negro American League Alexander suggested that Robinson try out 27 28 Jackie Robinson for the Monarchs, who needed talent since many black baseball players had been sent... was enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) The summer of 1939, just before he entered UCLA, was a difficult one for Robinson One of his older brothers was killed in a car accident, and then Robinson was unjustly arrested Jackie Robinson Robinson was formally charged with “hindering traffic” and “resisting arrest.” He spent the night in jail, where officers did not permit him... situation in the first place Robinson s arrest alarmed the new head football coach at UCLA, Edwin “Babe” Horrell He had been counting on Robinson to play with the Bruins that fall Through Horrell and other prominent people, a deal was arranged: Robinson would plead guilty and not serve jail time Robinson was not aware of the arrangement When the case came to trial on October 18, Robinson was absent His... youth, zeal, and energy helped to bring more and more young people like Jackie Robinson back to the church Downs had heard about Jackie and was determined to win him over; he acted like a friend and made himself available to talk and listen to Jackie s problems “One of the frustrations of my teens was watching Mother work so hard,” Robinson wrote in his memoir “I wanted to help more, but I knew how much... Jackie Robinson me when I was in a scrap, even though I don’t think he could knock down a fly.” During Jackie s high school and junior-college games, Frank had cheered him on from the stands He had also acted as an unofficial scout by attending the games of competing teams to report to Jackie on certain players This information often helped Jackie to prepare to face those... at Jackie Robinson, who had been the only “suspect” not to run away Robinson knew that, in the past, blacks had been attacked and even killed by prejudiced white officers without recrimination “I found myself up against the side of my car,” he said, “with a gun barrel pressed unsteadily into the pit of my stomach I was scared to death.” A Difficult Summer Football was one of several sports Jackie Robinson. .. those circumstances Bringing Jackie Robinson to campus was part of Downs’s plan to inspire the students to take pride in the college Robinson suited the job perfectly; he displayed his awards and trophies to serve as an inspiration to the students, and he set about building an athletic program almost from scratch, given free rein by Downs To the Big Leagues In 1945, Jackie Robinson began to play for... bridge the gap of mistrust and hatred and gain the Robinsons acceptance among their neighbors Mallie worked long days and could not be home with Jackie, who was still too young to attend school with his siblings Willa Mae, his older sister, became a surrogate mother to Jackie, taking him to school with her every day so that their mother could go to work Jackie played outside in the schoolyard sandbox... frequently refused service at restaurants with the rest of the team and were denied hotel rooms in many cities Jackie, however, was not willing to put up with discrimination During a basketball game at Long Beach Junior College, an opposing player blatantly punched Jackie, who fought back 19 20 Jackie Robinson and easily beat him The spectators erupted in anger, sparking a near-riot He earned a reputation . BaseBall superstars Jackie Robinson Hank Aaron Ty Cobb Lou Gehrig Derek Jeter Randy Johnson Mike Piazza Kirby Puckett Jackie Robinson Ichiro Suzuki Bernie Williams Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson Susan. Robinson Ichiro Suzuki Bernie Williams Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson Susan Muaddi Darraj BaseBall superstars JACKIE ROBINSON Copyright © 2008 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved. No part of. of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Darraj, Susan Muaddi. Jackie Robinson / Susan Muaddi Darraj. p. cm. — (Baseball superstars) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: