When Jackie Robinson first stepped up to bat for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 194 7, he faced a long, hard battle. People called him horrible names. Pitchers aimed the ball right for his head. And players used the spikes on their baseball shoes to cut his legs.

Jackie Robinson didn't back down. As the first black player in the white major leagues, he had made up his mind to play ball-and to open baseball's doors to all black men. This is the dramatic story of his triumph.