Roy Campanella ✝

Widely considered to be one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game, Campanella played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s and 1950s. After he retired as a player as a result of the accident, Campanella held positions in scouting and community relations with the Dodgers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.\n', ' He was born Roy Campanella in Philadelphia to parents Ida, who was African American, and John Campanella, son of Sicilian immigrants. Roy was one of four children born to the couple. They first lived in Germantown, and then moved to Nicetown in North Philadelphia, where the children attended integrated schools. Because of their mixed race, he and his siblings were sometimes harassed by other children in school. But Campanella had athletic gifts that he used to great effect. He was elected captain of every sport team he played on in high school, but baseball was his passion.\n', ' Of mixed-race, Campanella was considered on the wrong side of the baseball color line and prohibited from MLB play. He dropped out of high school on his sixteenth birthday and began playing Negro league baseball in 1937 for the Washington Elite Giants. The Elite Giants moved to Baltimore the following year, and Campanella became a star player with the team.\n', '