The Black Bruins : the remarkable lives of UCLA's Jackie Robinson, Woody Strode, Tom Bradley, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett / James W. Johnson.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-283) and index.

No bed of roses in Pasadena -- The Kingfish and Woody -- The high school years -- The little brother -- Obstacles to overcome -- A sorry season -- An easy choice -- Fitting in at UCLA -- Under-the-table help -- Filling the coffers -- High expectations -- A disappointing end to the season -- Decision time -- Passed over by the NFL -- The indispensable Robinson -- World War II beckons -- Moving up in the ranks -- Making NFL history -- The Negro League years -- End of the line at LAPD -- Leaving athletics -- Movie star in the making -- A promotion earned -- Blending in -- Changing Los Angeles -- The civil rights years -- Their legacy.

"The intertwined story of five influential African American athletes who came together as teammates at UCLA in the 1930s"-- Provided by publisher.

"The Black Bruins chronicles the inspirational lives of five African American athletes who faced racial discrimination as teammates at UCLA in the late 1930s. Best known among them was Jackie Robinson, a four-star athlete for the Bruins who went on to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball and become a leader in the civil rights movement after his retirement. Joining him were Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, and Ray Bartlett. The four played starring roles in an era when fewer than a dozen major colleges had black players on their rosters. This rejection of the "gentleman's agreement", which kept teams from fielding black players against all white teams, inspired black Angelinos and the African American press to adopt the teammates as their own. Washington became the first African American player to sign with an NFL team in the post-World War II era and later became a Los Angeles police officer and actor. Woody Strode, a Bruin football and track star, broke into the NFL with Washington in 1946 as a Los Angeles Ram and went on to act in at least fifty-seven full-length feature films. Ray Bartlett, a football, basketball, baseball, and track athlete, became the second African American to join the Pasadena Police Department, later donating his time to civic affairs and charity. Tom Bradley, a runner for the Bruins track team, spent twenty years fighting racial discrimination in the Los Angeles Police Department before being elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles"-- Provided by publisher.

Print version record.

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