Jackie Robinson By j_guillen16 Jan 31, 1919 Robinsons birth Sep 1, 1939 Joins UCLA and becomes first 4-Letterman Apr 3, 1942 Inducted into the Army Jun 21, 1943 Promotion to 2nd Leuitenant Apr 21, 1944 Becomes platoon leader company B of the 761st Aug 2, 1944 Jackie faces court-martial Nov 28, 1944 Discharged from military active duty Apr 15, 1945 Joins negro league, played for Kansas city Monarchs Aug 28, 1945 Meets Branch Rickey and agrees to play for Brooklyn Dodgers Oct 23, 1945 Signs contract to play with Montreal Apr 10, 1947 Announce the purchase of his contract Apr 15, 1947 MLB debut Apr 15, 1947 Breaks color barrier in baseball Jul 18, 1949 Testifies before the house about the role of blacks Jan 18, 1957 Announces retirement Jun 7, 1957 Earns Degree in Law from Harvard University Jan 23, 1960 Hall of fame and Cooperstown inductee Jun 4, 1971 #42 is retired from baseball Oct 24, 1972 Death Apr 15, 1987 Jackie robinson day