<P> In 1953, Robinson had 109 runs, a . 329 batting average, and 17 steals, leading the Dodgers to another National League pennant (and another World Series loss to the Yankees, this time in six games). Robinson's continued success spawned a string of death threats . He was not dissuaded, however, from addressing racial issues publicly . That year, he served as editor for Our Sports magazine, a periodical focusing on Negro sports issues; contributions to the magazine included an article on golf course segregation by Robinson's old friend Joe Louis . Robinson also openly criticized segregated hotels and restaurants that served the Dodger organization; a number of these establishments integrated as a result, including the five - star Chase Park Hotel in St. Louis . </P> <P> In 1954, Robinson had 62 runs scored, a . 311 batting average, and 7 steals . His best day at the plate was on June 17, when he hit two home runs and two doubles . The following autumn, Robinson won his only championship when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series . Although the team enjoyed ultimate success, 1955 was the worst year of Robinson's individual career . He hit . 256 and stole only 12 bases . The Dodgers tried Robinson in the outfield and as a third baseman, both because of his diminishing abilities and because Gilliam was established at second base . Robinson, then 37 years old, missed 49 games and did not play in Game 7 of the World Series . Robinson missed the game because manager Walter Alston decided to play Gilliam at second and Don Hoak at third base . That season, the Dodgers' Don Newcombe became the first black major league pitcher to win twenty games in a year . </P> <P> In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs scored, a . 275 batting average, and 12 steals . By then, he had begun to exhibit the effects of diabetes, and to lose interest in the prospect of playing or managing professional baseball . After the season, Robinson was traded by the Dodgers to the arch - rival New York Giants for Dick Littlefield and $35,000 cash (equal to $308,317 today). The trade, however, was never completed; unbeknownst to the Dodgers, Robinson had already agreed with the president of Chock full o'Nuts to quit baseball and become an executive with the company . Since Robinson had sold exclusive rights to any retirement story to Look magazine two years previously, his retirement decision was revealed through the magazine, instead of through the Dodgers organization . </P> <P> Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the baseball color line . After World War II, several other forces were also leading the country toward increased equality for blacks, including their accelerated migration to the North, where their political clout grew, and President Harry Truman's desegregation of the military in 1948 . Robinson's breaking of the baseball color line and his professional success symbolized these broader changes and demonstrated that the fight for equality was more than simply a political matter . Martin Luther King, Jr. said that he was "a legend and a symbol in his own time", and that he "challenged the dark skies of intolerance and frustration ." According to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robinson's "efforts were a monumental step in the civil - rights revolution in America...(His) accomplishments allowed black and white Americans to be more respectful and open to one another and more appreciative of everyone's abilities ." </P>

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