Fan Mail: Jackie Robinson

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Jackie Robinson speaking to reporters in Birmingham, Alabama, May 14, 1963
Courtesy Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
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Mail addressed to Jackie Robinson, circa 1947–1962
Loan from Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (1919–1972) played baseball in the U.S. Army, the Negro Leagues, and the minor leagues before taking the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He was the first African American major league player in more than sixty years. He received both hate mail and fan letters during his career and used the mail to share his thoughts with politicians and leaders of the civil rights movement.

 
 
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Mail addressed to Jackie Robinson, circa 1947–1962
Loan from Library of Congress Manuscript Division
refer to caption
Mail addressed to Jackie Robinson, circa 1947–1962
Loan from Library of Congress Manuscript Division
 

Baseball: America’s Home Run