Zach Frampton readily admits he just wanted to do the assignment and get it over with. He wasn't trying for a national award. Participation in History Day is required of sixth-graders at La'ie Elementary, so 12-year-old Zach, an avid athlete, picked a sports hero to make his task more interesting.

But the more he learned about Jackie Robinson, the larger the baseball legend's example loomed in his own life.

For his school competition, Zach went with the title, "Jackie Robinson: Didn't He Sell Ice Cream?"

"He loved that title," Zach's mom Debbie said. "He kept saying it over and over. After the school competition, he realized the judges didn't really get it."

For the district competition, Zach beefed up his research and changed the title to "Jackie Robinson Keeps His Cool." He placed in the top three at districts, put more work into his display board and took first place in the state in the sixth-to-eighth grade age group. By then, he was quite serious about his project. In June, he competed in National History Day at the University of Maryland.

"I love sports," Zach wrote in the essay portion of his project about baseball's first black major league player. "My favorite book is 'Jackie and Me' by Dan Gutman. It made me angry that, although he was a great athlete, fans were mean to Jackie Robinson because he was black. I'm the only white kid on my all-star basketball team and I get called names. ..."

And here Zach used the name he's been called — a name awful enough to be unprintable in the newspaper. However, in the context of a child's first-hand connection to a complex and painful subject, it was honest and brave. It made the point that what Robinson had to endure all those years ago still happens today.

"This is why I wanted to do Jackie Robinson for History Day," Zach wrote. "When he got harassed he just played better."

At the National History Day event, Zach had included some of his baseball cards on his display board, as well as a 1947 edition of Baseball Digest with an interview with Jackie Robinson. He bought the magazine on e-Bay for $45 with his allowance and treasured it like it was priceless.

During the public viewing, some of his baseball cards and his 1947 Baseball Digest were stolen — pulled right off his display board.

But in sports, and in History Day competitions, winners learn to shake off the bad breaks and focus on the positive. Zach placed fifth out of 2,000 students from across the country and received the $500 Lee Allen History of Baseball Award.

"He was so sad, but after he won the award, he was totally over it," Debbie said.

The goal of History Day is to make kids see the connection between what came before and what is today. For Zach, Jackie Robinson's example became like the teaching of a great coach.

"It makes me treat other people better. I just try to not fight back," Zach said. "Jackie Robinson, he kept his cool and he showed how good he was. I learned not to fight back and just play the game."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.