CAIRO — Jackie Robinson’s 101st birthday was Friday, Jan. 31, and children at the Jackie Robinson Boys & Girls Club marked the occasion by learning about the late baseball legend.

Though rainy and cold weather on Friday prevented club members from participating in their annual community baseball game, children still learned about Robinson’s achievements on and off the baseball diamond that won him his fame. Club members learned how Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier not only changed the sport, but also the culture and society of America itself.

Club director Stephen Francis said Robinson was not only a great baseball player, but also a great man with enormous courage and pride.

“The Jackie Robinson Boys & Girls Club of Cairo and Grady County is a club full of members that display these same characteristics, even as children, on a daily basis,” Francis said.