As the 2013 baseball season kicks off, the legacy of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player to take the field in the 20th Century, is remembered.
This weekend, 42, a biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, will hit theaters.
To commemorate the occasion theGrio put together a list of 10 things you may not know about Jackie Robinson.
Major League Baseball’s Jackie Robinson Day will be celebrated this Monday, April 15th.
Every player will don Robinson’s number, 42, marking the 64th anniversary of the Hall of Famer breaking baseball’s color barrier.
In 1945 the Boston Red Sox offered Jackie Robinson and two other African-American players a fake try-out. The invitation to try-out was a result of Boston city councilor Isadore Muchnick pressuring both the Red Sox and the then Boston Braves to give opportunities to Negro League players or risk losing the Blue Laws waiver that allowed the clubs to play Sunday games. During the Red Sox try-out, all three players were allegedly taunted and called names, prompting them to leave after ninety minutes, skipping their try-out with the Braves.
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article courtesy of TheGrio.com
