Memorable: photos from the Ebony files

Ebony, May, 2005

JACKIE ROBINSON, after signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers, became the first player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947. In February 2005, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award, making him only the fourth athlete to receive the honor (Joe Louis, Roberto Clemente, Jesse Owens). He died in 1972 at age 53.