The first African American major league ballplayer of the twentieth century was a hard-nosed, high-spirited athlete who became one of the most admired personalities in the country. Jackie Robinson personified courage from the minute he stepped into the major leagues, adorned proudly in his Dodger blue. Nevertheless, he was a man who bore a daily, bloody trial of vicious attacks, race-baiting taunts, and death threats, risking both his safety and his sanity in order to simply play the game. The strain would end his life far too soon–but he gave his life for something great, as all heroes do.

In Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, renowned broadcaster Scott Simon brings his passion for baseball and civil rights to this crucial moment in history. He deftly captures the drama of Robinson’s first year in baseball, tracing his journey from rookie to Rookie of the Year, the award that now bears Robinson’s name.

At the close of World War II, no nation was freer or stronger than the United States–and yet few major nations so openly subjugated so many of their own citizens. Simon recounts how Robinson struggled with racism both in the army and on the baseball diamond, finally landing a place in the Negro Leagues as a shortstop. Just at the time when the country was beginning to question the morality of racial segregation, Robinson was battling bigotry every step of the way–from his entry into the minor leagues; to Opening Day, April 15, 1947, when he helped the Brooklyn Dodgers win; to his first World Series.

But for the man who "just wanted to be treated like any other player," the goal of integrating the major leagues was worth every moment of agony and anguish. Simon reveals how Robinson’s skills and daring turned adversaries into admirers. For every piece of hate mail, for every epithet called across the field, there were prayers, greeting cards, and letters of encouragement from Southerners and Brooklynites, rabbis and ministers. And thanks to that seminal year, Robinson paved the way for scores of black players to finally join organized baseball. This important story of a man of remarkable conviction is by turns inspiring, emotional, and uplifting.