{"product_id":"the-black-bruins-the-remarkable-lives-of-uclas-jackie-robinson-woody-strode-tom-bradley-kenny-washington-and-ray-bartlett-9781496201836","title":"The Black Bruins: The Remarkable Lives of Ucla's Jackie Robinson, Woody Strode, Tom Bradley, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett","description":"\u003ci\u003eThe Black Bruins\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles the inspirational lives of five Black 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, Ray Bartlett, and Tom Bradley--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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Kenny 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 Bruins 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames W. Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e is professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is the author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Dandy Dons: Bill Russell, K. C. Jones, Phil Woolpert, and One of College Basketball's Greatest and Most Innovative Teams\u003c\/i\u003e (Bison Books, 2009) and \u003ci\u003eThe Wow Boys: A Coach, a Team, and a Turning Point in College Football\u003c\/i\u003e (Bison Books, 2006). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50466753577234,"sku":"9781496201836","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6b2f9e9f-6f18-4fcf-8ca3-ef5cd0b223bf.jpg?v=1730126484","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-black-bruins-the-remarkable-lives-of-uclas-jackie-robinson-woody-strode-tom-bradley-kenny-washington-and-ray-bartlett-9781496201836","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}