12 Reasons To Love The Los Angeles Dodgers

12 Reasons To Love The Los Angeles Dodgers — page 3
2 JACKIE ROBINSON BREAKS THE COLOR LINE It was October 1945 The United States was segregated Black people did not have the same rights as white people That carried over to Major 7 Seasons in a row in which Jackie Robinson scored at least 99 runs to begin his MLB career The Dodgers led the way in signing black players Future hall of fame black catcher Roy Campanella debuted in 1948 Star black pitcher Don Newcombe joined the Dodgers in 1949 Newcombe won the NL Cy Young and MVP awards in 1956 6 League Baseball MLB An unofficial color line kept black players out of the major leagues Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey wanted to change that He watched Negro Leagues games Those leagues featured the best black players Rickey saw that black players could make his team better So he decided to sign a young shortstop named Jackie Robinson It was a big decision Many people wanted Robinson to fail That would THINK ABOUT IT Put yourself in Branch Rickey’s position Pretend you are looking for a black player to break the color line What qualities would you look for in that player Why are those qualities so important