"Jackie Robinson was a much better basketball, football and track athlete than he was a baseball player -- and some say an even better tennis player."
"Branch Rickey, the president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was looking for a Negro Leagues player to sign, Jackie Robinson was not his first choice."
"Robinson became the first Black player in Major League Baseball. And wherever he ranked among the Negro League's best, he was absolutely the right man to be the first to break the color line."
"He had the intangibles that better prepared him to be able to deal with the immense racial hatred that the first player was going to have to endure."
Jackie Robinson was not the best player in the Negro Leagues, but he was selected by Branch Rickey to break baseball's color barrier due to his resilience and character. Rickey initially preferred Monte Irvin but shifted focus to Robinson after Irvin's owner refused to release him. Robinson's background as a celebrated athlete, military service, and personal stability made him the right choice to endure the racial challenges he would face as the first Black player in Major League Baseball.
Read at ESPN.com
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