1 / 18 photos Jackie Robinson

Midair action shot of UCLA student Jackie Robinson winning an event at a track meet at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson, first Negro to be given a contract in organized baseball when he signed with Montreal Royals of International League, a Brooklyn Farm Club. Robinson, 26, shown in grid togs he wore when he played backfield with the UCLA football team.

Jackie Robinson, in military uniform, becomes the first African American to sign with a white professional baseball team. He signs a contract with the minor league club in Montreal, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Heavyweight champion Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson try the weapon of each other's trade at Louis' Pompton Lake, NJ, training camp.

Members of the Brooklyn Dodgers and their new coach pose in front of their dugout before an exhibition game with the New York Yankees. The team has a new manager and new Negro star player from Montreal, Jackie Robinson.

Brooklyn second baseman Jackie Robinson testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee on the loyalty of American Negroes.

Jackie is pictured in his study at his home at 112-40, 177th Street, St. Albans, Queens surrounded by some of the many trophies he has won.

Jackie Robinson sets another marker as he becomes the first Negro to win the coveted 'Most Valuable Player' award of the American Baseball Writers Association. Jackie, the Brooklyn Dodger star second baseman, won over Stan Musial of the Cardinals in polling for the honor.

 Jackie Robinson and Bobby Morgan of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Vero Beach in Florida.

Three happy members of the unpredictable Dodgers do some celebrating in the Brooklyn Dodgers dressing room at Ebbets Field, after the Brooks took both ends of a high-blood-pressurizing twin bill from the Braves. Left to right are: catcher Roy Campanella, who smacked a two-run homer in the nightcap; manager Burt Shotton; and Jackie Robinson, whose four-bagger won the second game.

Robinson is shown here teaching his son Jackie Jr. how to bat.

Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson poses in his batting stance. Robinson broke baseball's color barrier when he joined the Dodgers in April 1947, going on to be named National League Rookie of the Year. Two year's later, Robinson was named National League Most Valuable Player.

Jackie Robinson, reported to be retiring from baseball, reads the comics to his children as his wife, Rachel, looks on in their home. The kids are, left to right: David, 4; Jackie, Jr., 10; and Sharon, 7.

Vice President Richard M. Nixon chats with former baseball star Jackie Robinson during a stop in the Republican presidential candidate's sweep through northern New Jersey.

Jackie Robinson holds a plaque after he was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.

Robinson, who recently was named to Baseball's Hall of Fame, and Althea Gibson, former amateur tennis champion, are shown checking the tally. Miss Gibson was leading the tournament's women's division while Robinson was a top contender among the men.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and baseball Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson chat together before a press conference in New York.

Jackie Robinson, here a Rockefeller advisor, speaks to members of the National Newspaper Publisher Assn. During an outdoor reception at his home here June 23rd. Robinson gave his endorsement to Rockefller's candidacy for the 1968 Republican Presidential nomination.