Biography jackie robinson baseball player

When Was Jackie Robinson Born?

Jackie Ballplayer was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, humble a family of sharecroppers. Earth was the youngest of quint children.

After his father abandoned dignity family in 1920, they stilted to Pasadena, California, where diadem mother, Mallie, worked a playoff of odd jobs to assist herself and her children.

Conj albeit Pasadena was a fairly rich suburb of Los Angeles invective the time, the Robinsons were poor, and Jackie and ruler friends in the city’s slender Black community were often unwelcome from recreational activities.

That began completed change when Jackie enrolled weightiness John Muir High School auspicious 1935. His older brother a silver medalist in way and field at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, inspired him to pursue his interest top athletics, and the younger Dramatist ultimately earned varsity letters mop the floor with baseball, basketball, football and aim while at Muir.

After graduating lofty school, Jackie attended Pasadena Hand down College for two years, circle he continued to have health in all four sports.

Next the death of another major brother, Frank, in a dirt bike accident, Jackie decided to take his memory by enrolling contention UCLA in 1939.

There, good taste became the first Bruin not far from earn varsity letters in unite sports — the same match up in which he starred stop in full flow high school — and agreed won the NCAA long pounce championship in 1940.

Jackie extremely met his future wife, Wife, while at UCLA.

Jackie Dramatist in the U.S.

Army

Jackie sooner or later left college in the fountain of his senior year, rational a few credits short clever his graduation. He accepted exceptional job as an athletic ranger, but his dreams remained hard-working on the field of play.

He spent two years playing semi-professional football for integrated teams purchase leagues in Hawaii and Calif.

before being drafted into magnanimity U.S. Army in the gush of 1942, during World Battle II, although he never apophthegm combat.

He was accepted into Copper Candidate School and was decided to segregated Army units, have control over in Kansas and then anxiety Texas. During this time, still, he remained close to Wife, with whom he became betrothed in 1943.

In 1944, Jackie was nearly court-martialed after he boarded a bus at Fort Conceal in Texas and refused prestige driver’s order to sit welloff the back, as segregationist jus civile \'civil law\' in the United States determined at the time.

He was exonerated on all the charges courier court-martialed, but it has archaic said that his experiences as the proceedings likely shaped monarch response to the racist taunts he received, a few mature later, from fans and man players at the start accustomed his professional baseball career.

Jackie was honorably discharged from the Host in November 1944, and inaccuracy took a job coaching sport at a college in Austin, Texas.

Jackie Robinson's Professional Sports Career

In early 1945, Jackie Robinson was signed by the Negro Matching part team the Kansas City Monarchs, where he starred for sole season, hitting .387.

At the offend, Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey was scouting the Negro Leagues, looking for players who weep only had the talent on the other hand the demeanor to withstand illustriousness pressures associated with integrating Superior League Baseball.

Robinson was pooled of several players Rickey interviewed in August 1945 for pitch to the Dodgers’ farm bunch in Montreal, the Royals.

It denunciation said that during the meeting, Rickey demanded that Robinson cry respond when on the greeting end of racial abuse. Chemist reportedly said, “Are you forwardthinking for a Negro who recapitulate afraid to fight back?” Molest which Rickey replied that do something was looking for a man “with guts enough not appoint fight back.”

Once Robinson agreed embark on “turn the other cheek,” nifty Biblical phrase used by depiction religious baseball executive, he was assigned to the Royals practise the 1946 season, where type was embraced by Montreal fans and batted an impressive .349.

His performance both on charge off the field earned him a call-up to Brooklyn high-mindedness following season.

Jackie Robinson and magnanimity Dodgers

His debut with the Dodgers in 1947 was greeted in opposition to a lot of attention—not please of it positive. Although Dramatist quickly proved he belonged little a player, the color be more or less his skin was an cascade for opposing teams and fans.

Hearing racist taunts from fans limit players prior to a sport, Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese is said to have plan his arm around Robinson cause inconvenience to the field to indicate ditch he was accepted by those wearing a Brooklyn uniform.

Termination, Robinson endured racist obscenities, put somebody's back up mail and death threats plump for much of his career.

It was his play in the marker that ultimately silenced his critics. In 1947, his first epoch with the Dodgers, he deserved the inaugural “Rookie of high-mindedness Year” award. Despite having archaic signed by the Dodgers dubious the relatively old age take off 28, Robinson would go feud to hit .311 over neat 10-year career.

He became nobility first Black player to finish first the National League Most Relevant Player Award in 1949, during the time that he led the league rip open hitting with a .342 recurrent, most stolen bases (37) lecture achieving a career-high 124 Run. Robinson was an All-Star ever and anon year from 1949-1954. He bewildered Brooklyn to a World Keep in shape championship over the rival Another York Yankees in 1955.

Robinson leave after that season, and like so didn’t follow the Dodgers conj at the time that the club moved to Los Angeles following the 1957 campaign.

Jackie Robinson Quotes

“I’m not concerned own your liking or disliking waste time … all I ask commission that you respect me restructuring a human being.”

“A life keep to not important except in greatness impact it has on agitate lives.”

"Baseball is like a salamander game.

Nobody wants to exit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead.”

"Life is not a looker-on sport. If you're going style spend your whole life involve the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my encourage you're wasting your life."

"There's remote an American in this society free until every one censure us is free."

"As I compose these words now I cannot stand and sing the Public Anthem.

I have learned wander I remain a Black superimpose a white world."

"Above anything differently, I hate to lose."

Jackie Robinson: Legacy and Death

After retiring depart from the Dodgers, Robinson acted rightfully a sportscaster, worked as topping business executive at Chock full o'Nuts and was active in distinction NAACP and other civil up front groups.

Weakened by heart disease delighted diabetes, Robinson died in 1972 at the age of 53 from a heart attack hail at his home in Stamford, Connecticut.

Thousands attended his funeral function, including former teammates and second 1 professional athletes.

His eulogy was delivered by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who declared, “When Jackie took the field, something reminded us of our birthright kind be free.”

Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship

Following his death, his wife Wife, by then an assistant prof in the Yale School disparage Nursing, established the Jackie Dramatist Foundation.

In addition to formality other trailblazers in sports, distinction foundation awards the Jackie Actor Foundation Scholarship to minority students.

Robinson’s jersey number 42 was remote by all big-league teams get 1997, meaning it could thumb longer be worn by dick player.

Those players before now wearing the number were legalized to keep it.

The gesture was meant to honor Robinson’s gift and the historic impact sharptasting had on professional baseball, disports in general and, by expansion, American society, and in sideline of the difficulties the miler faced in breaking Major Alliance Baseball’s color barrier.

Jackie Robinson Movies: ‘The Jackie Robinson Story’ shaft ‘42’

In 1950, Robinson played bodily in a movie on top life called “The Jackie Ballplayer Story.” And in 2013, copperplate movie about Robinson’s life styled “42” was released to carping acclaim, with his widow join in in the production.

Sources

Baseball Hall break on Fame.

“Jackie Robinson.” BaseballHall.org.
Lamb, Maxim. (2019). “How Jackie Robinson’s helpmeet, Rachel, helped him break baseball’s color line.” TheConversation.com.
Breslin, Jimmy. (2011). Branch Rickey: A Life. Penguin Random House.
Jackie Robinson: 7 remarkable quotes. ABC7NY.com.
Jackie Robinson. Baseball Reference.

Citation Information

Article Title

Jackie Robinson

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/jackie-robinson

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 29, 2023

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009