A multi-sport athlete at UCLA; a long-time activist (see The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson). He was also the first black player in Major League Baseball (1947) since blacks were banned in the 19th Century; he was rookie of the year, and won numerous awards and championships during his career. He retired in 1957, rather than accept a trade from the Brooklyn Dodgers to the crosstown rival Giants; he worked for many years as an exec and a civil rights activist before he died in 1972.