One day Branch Rickey, the general manager...
One day Branch Rickey, the general manager of the then Brooklyn Dodgers major league baseball team, decided to take a great risk. It was the mid-1940s and Rickey decided he was going to sign the first black man to a major league baseball contract. He called Jackie Robinson into his office. Robinson had been a superb athlete at UCLA in several sports, especially in baseball. He was known for his sense of pride and his fierce temper. He also had a strong family background with an intense Christian faith. But Rickey wondered if Robinson had the humility to go with his pride.