40s SPORTS PAGE

Sports, like all other activities in the 40's, were influenced by WWII. Sport leagues were forced to sign players that they would never dream of signing because many of their players had been drafted into the Army. Many teams signed players that had a limb missing or had a serious disease. Some teams drafted players that were as young as 15 years old or as old as 40!!!!! Baseball was one of the worst sports off. If you ever went on a fact book about baseball you would find tons of weird things under the 40s. Still, some players played better than ever. Ted Willams was an exception. In 1941, he had a batting average of .406 at the end of the year. He was drafted by the Air Force and flew as a pilot in WWII and the Korean War. He played with the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1959. His nickname was "The Splened Splinter".

Jackie Robinson was another great baseball player. Jackie was an exceptional athlete. He excelled in track, baseball, football, and basketball at UCLA. There, he became the first person ever to win athletic letters in all four sports. In 1941, Jackie began playing professional football for the Los Angeles Bulldogs. But, he was drafted into World War ll where he served 31 months. He had a life time batting average of .311. His first professional baseball experience was played with the Monarchs, a team in the Negro American Baseball League, in 1945. He played so well that he was brought to the attention of Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey thought it was time to break the color barrier that existed in baseball, and signed Jackie to play for the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' top minor league team.
After one season with the Royals, Rickey decided to move Jackie to play with the Dodgers for the 1947 season. Jackie would be the first black person ever to compete in the major leagues. Although he faced tremendous racism and pressure, Jackie was voted "Rookie of the Year." In 1949, his best year, he led the league in hitting and was voted most valuable player. During the 10 years Jackie played for the Dodgers, they won the National League title six times. Jackie retired from baseball after the 1956 season. After retiring, Jackie became a public speaker for African-American rights. Later, he was also voted into the "Baseball Hall of Fame." Jackie Robinson died of diabetic complications in 1972.