WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- A congressional gold medal will be awarded posthumously to baseball great Jackie Robinson, U.S. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said Tuesday.
The medal is scheduled to be presented Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol at a ceremony attended by Robinson's widow, Rachel, and congressional leaders. It is being given in honor of Robinson's many contributions to the United States, Hastert's office said.
Robinson broke baseball's color line in 1947 when he took the field for Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black to play for a major league team.
In 1949, Robinson hit .342 to win the National League batting crown and was named baseball's most valuable player. In 1962, he became the first black player inducted into the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, N.Y
Robinson died in 1972.
