When was Jackie Robinson born?
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia, to a family of sharecroppers. He was the youngest of five children.
After his father abandoned the family in 1920, they moved to Pasadena, in California, where his mother, Mallie, worked a series of odd jobs to support herself and her children. Although Pasadena was a fairly affluent suburb of Los Angeles at the time, the Robinsons were poor and Jackie and her friends in the city’s small black community were often excluded from recreational activities.
That started to change when Jackie signed up for John Muir High School in 1935. His older brother Mack, a silver medalist in athletics at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlininspired him to pursue his interest in athletics, and young Robinson eventually earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball, football and track and field at Muir.
After graduating from high school, Jackie attended Pasadena Junior College for two years, where he continued to enjoy success in all four sports. Following the death of another older brother, Frank, in a motorcycle accident, Jackie decided to honor his memory by enrolling in UCLA in 1939.
There, he became the first Bruin to earn varsity letters in four sports – the same four he played in in high school – and he won the title. NCAA long jump championship in 1940. Jackie also met his future wife, Rachel, while at UCLA.
Did you know? In 1997, 50 years after Robinson joined baseball, his number, 42, was permanently retired by all Major League Baseball teams.
More History: The Father of Negro League Baseball
Jackie Robinson in the US Army
Jackie finally left college in the spring of her senior year, just a few credits away from graduating. He accepted a job as a sports administrator, but his dreams remained focused on the playing field.
He spent two years playing semi-professional football for integrated teams in leagues in Hawaii and California before being recruited by the team. The American army in the spring of 1942, during The Second World Wareven though he has never seen combat.
He was accepted into Officer Candidate School and assigned to separate military units, first in Kansas and then in Texas. During this time, however, he remained close to Rachel, to whom he became engaged in 1943.
In 1944, Jackie was nearly court-martialed after boarding a bus in Fort Hood in Texas and refused the driver’s order to sit in the back, as dictated by segregationist practices in the United States at the time.
He was acquitted of all charges and court-martialed, but it has been said that his experiences during the proceedings probably shaped his response to the racist taunts he received, some years later, from from fans and other players early in his professional career. baseball career.
Jackie was honorably discharged from the Army in November 1944 and took a job coaching basketball at a college in AustinTexas.
Professional sports career of Jackie Robinson
In early 1945, Jackie Robinson was signed by the Negro League team, the Kansas City Monarchs, where he played for one season, hitting .387.
At the time, Brooklyn Dodgers executive Rickey Branch was scouting the Negro Leagues, looking for players who had not only the talent but also the attitude to withstand the pressures associated with integration. Major League Baseball. Robinson was one of several players interviewed by Rickey in August 1945 for assignment to the Dodgers’ farm team in Montreal, the Royals.
It is said that during the interview, Rickey demanded that Robinson not respond when he was being racially abused. Robinson reportedly said, “Are you looking for a nigger who’s afraid to fight back?” » To which Rickey replied that he was looking for someone “courageous enough not to fight back.”
Once Robinson agreed to “turn the other cheek,” a biblical expression used by baseball’s religious leaders, he was assigned to the Royals for the 1946 season, where he was embraced by Montreal fans and hit an impressive .349. His performance on and off the field earned him a call-up to Brooklyn the following season.
Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers
His debut with the Dodgers in 1947 was met with much, but not entirely positive, attention. Although Robinson quickly proved he belonged as a player, the color of his skin was an issue for opposing teams and fans.
Hearing racist taunts from fans and players before a game, Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese reportedly put his arm around Robinson on the field to indicate that he had been accepted by those wearing a Brooklyn uniform. Yet Robinson endured racist obscenities, hate mail and death threats for much of his career.
It was his play on the field that ultimately silenced his critics. In 1947, in his first year with the Dodgers, he won the first “Rookie of the Year” award. Although he was signed by the Dodgers at the relatively late age of 28, Robinson would hit .311 over a 10-year career. He became the first black player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949, when he led the league with a .342 hitting average, most stolen bases (37), and a career-high 124 RBIs. Robinson was an All-Star every year from 1949 to 1954. He led Brooklyn to a World Series championship against rival New York Yankees in 1955.
Robinson retired after that season and therefore did not follow the Dodgers when the club moved. Los Angeles following the 1957 campaign.
Jackie Robinson Quotes
“I don’t care if you like me or don’t like me…all I ask is that you respect me as a human being. »
“A life is only important for the impact it has on other lives.”
“Baseball is like a game of poker. No one wants to quit when they’re losing; no one wants you to quit when you’re ahead.”
“Life is not a spectator sport. If you spend your whole life in the stands watching what is happening, in my opinion you are wasting your life.”
“There will not be a single free American in this country until every one of us is free.”
“As I write these words, I cannot stand up and sing the national anthem. I have learned that I remain black in a white world.”
“Most of all, I hate losing.”
Jackie Robinson: legacy and death
After retiring from the Dodgers, Robinson acted as a sportscaster, worked as a business executive at Filled with nuts and was active in the NAACP and other civil rights groups.
Weakened by heart disease and diabetes, Robinson died in 1972 at the age of 53 following a heart attack suffered at his home in StamfordConnecticut.
Thousands of people attended his funeral, including former teammates and other professional athletes. His eulogy was delivered by Rev. Jesse Jacksonwho said: “When Jackie took the field, something reminded us of our birthright to freedom. »
Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship
After his death, his wife Rachel, then an assistant professor at Yale School of Nursingestablished the Jackie Robinson Foundation. In addition to recognizing other sports pioneers, the foundation awards the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship to minority students.
Robinson’s number 42 jersey was retired by all big league teams in 1997, meaning it could no longer be worn by any players. Players already wearing this number were allowed to keep it.
The gesture was intended to honor Robinson’s legacy and the historic impact he had on professional baseball, sports in general and, by extension, American society, and in recognition of the difficulties the athlete faced in breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier.
Jackie Robinson films: “The Jackie Robinson Story” and “42”
In 1950, Robinson played himself in a film about his life called “The story of Jackie Robinson.” And in 2013, a film about Robinson’s life called “42” was critically acclaimed, with his widow involved in the production.
Sources
Baseball Hall of Fame. “Jackie Robinson.” BaseballHall.org.
Lamb, C. (2019). “How Jackie Robinson’s Wife, Rachel, Helped Him Break Baseball’s Color Line.” TheConversation.com.
Breslin, Jimmy. (2011). Branch Rickey: A Life. Random Penguin House.
Jackie Robinson: 7 memorable quotes. ABC7NY.com.
Jackie Robinson. Baseball reference.
