This photograph shows Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), an American baseball player, speaking at Springfield College in 1962, shortly after Robinson had been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hanging behind Robinson is a portrait of Amos Alonzo Stagg and the official seal of the Phillips Exeter Academy. Robinson was at the college for an event commemorating the 100th birthday of football legend Amos Alonzo Stagg, who once attended and coached at Springfield College. The event was held at the Memorial Field House. For more information on Amos Alonzo Stagg, see: https://springfield.as.atlas-sys.com/agents/people/661 Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play major league baseball in the twentieth century when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to become the first black player to be named Rookie of the Year, to win the Most Valuable Player award, and to be inducted into major league baseball's Hall of Fame. He was also the first black television analyst in MLB, and the first black vice president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
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