Resources

Printed Materials

Maury Allen, Jackie Robinson: A Life Remembered (New York: F. Watts, 1987).

Bruce Chadwick, When the Game Was Black and White: The Illustrated History of the Negro Leagues (New York: Abbeville Press, 1992).

Roger Kahn, The Boys of Summer (New York: Perennial Library, 1987). Influential book by sports writer Roger Kahn, who covered the Brooklyn Dodgers for the New York Tribune.

Robert Peterson, Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992). Draws on oral histories to tell the story of the Negro League from players' perspectives.

Jackie Robinson and Alfred Duckett, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography (Hopewell, N.J.: Ecco Press, 1995).

Rachel Robinson and Lee Daniels, Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait (New York: Abrams, 1996). Jackie Robinson's wife's account of his life on and off the field, from their initial meeting in 1939 to his death in 1972.

Sharon Robinson, Stealing Home: An Intimate Family Portrait by the Daughter of Jackie Robinson (New York: HarperCollins, 1996). Personal narrative by Robinson's daughter about growing up with a famous father.

Jules Tygie, ed., The Jackie Robinson Reader: Perspectives on an American Hero (New York: Dutton, 1997).

Online Resources

Letter from Jackie Robinson to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, May 13, 1958, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Letter urging federal intervention in school desegregation in Arkansas.

Beyond the Playing Field - Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate, hosted by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Includes pedagogical resources and primary source material.

Baseball and Jackie Robinson, American Memory Project, Library of Congress. Contains, among other resources, a detailed timeline describing African American participation in baseball from the 1860s to the 1970s.

Jackie Robinson: Soul of the Game, hosted by The Sporting News. Articles and editorials from The Sporting News archives surrounding Robinson's move to the Dodgers. Also offers an extensive gallery of Robinson photographs and contemporary essays on Robinson's career.

"Remembering Jackie Robinson," hosted by PBS (original air date: April 24, 1997). Online forum discussing Robinson's impact on baseball, desegregation, and the color barrier in modern sports.

Jackie Robinson, Baseball Hall of Fame, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Includes Robinson's vital statistics on the field as well as a video biography.

Negro Leagues Legacy, hosted by Major League Baseball. Official website of Major League Baseball containing a number of articles on prominent players in the Negro League as well as oral histories and numerous audio and video clips with players, sportswriters, and fans. Also provides a brief quiz on the Negro League and commentary by sports historian Steve Goldman.