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Birth
Jack Roosevelt Robinson is born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, GA. He is the youngest of five children. -
Recognizing talent
Jackie was motivated to pursue sports by his brothers after graduating from junior high. -
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High School Sports
Jackie played varsity Baseball, Football, Basketball, and track, as well as playing on the tennis team. -
College
After graduating from PJC, Jackie started attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) -
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College sports
Robinson became the first UCLA athlete to get varsity letters in for sports, Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Track. Interestingly, Baseball was his worst sport, only hitting with a .097 batting average. He also went 6-0-4 with the football team in his rookie year, although Jackie left UCLA after a disappointing season to pursue semi-professional football in Hawaii. -
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Military years, Part 1
After Jackie left UCLA, he was drafted into the military in 1942. he was assigned to a segregated unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. He then applied for officer candidate school (OCS) and even though they claimed to be race-neutral, Jackie's application was delayed for multiple months along with other black applicants. -
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Military years, part 2
Eventually, after protest from Joe Louis, then part of the OCS, Jackie and the other delayed applicants were accepted into the OCS. Because of the protest from Joe Louis, he and Jackie became good friends. About a year later, Robinson became a second lieutenant and then became engaged with Rachel Isum. Shortly afterward, Jackie was sent to Fort Wood, Texas, and was assigned to the 761st tank battalion. -
Military years, Part 4
Jackie's commander refused the legal action, however, he was moved to the 758th battalion. During his time there, his commander accused him of several charges, including public drunkness, even though Jackie doesn't drink. He never saw combat and became the coach of army athletics until he got an honorable discharge in November. -
Military years, part 3
In 1944, he got onto a bus that was not supposed to be segregated, but the bus driver still ordered Robinson to go to the back of the bus, but he refused. The bus driver decided to call in the police, who took Jackie into custody. Jackie felt the questioning was not justified and decided to confront the officers about racist questioning, and they recommended that he be court-martialed. -
After military
Jackie became the athletic director at Samuel Hudson College, and one of his duties was coaching the basketball team. The team was not good due to a lack of players, but Jackie was still a well-respected coach and admired by many. -
The Negro Leagues
Jackie received a letter from the Kansas City Monarchs asking for him to play with them. He ended up signing a contract for $400/month. Jackie played well with the monarchs, but he did not enjoy the experience. he thought that the league was disorganized and centered around gambling. -
Pursuing the Big leagues
Jackie went to a tryout at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox, but the tryout was basically a way for a city councilman to get off of the teams back for discrimination. nevertheless, Jackie did not make the team, but this did not stop his pursuit of playing at the next level. A man by the name of Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn (now Los Angeles) Dodgers scouted the negro leagues for possible talent to add to the Dodgers roster. -
Branch and Jackies Conversation
In a famous interview, Branch asked Jackie if he would be able to hold himself from reacting to the people using racial slurs and other racist things toward him, to which Jackie responded "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?". Branch responded with "I need a negro with guts enough not to fight back." -
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Bush Leagues
Branch Rickey signed Robinson to a contract giving Jackie $600/month. He made his debut with the Montreal Royals on March 17, 1946. -
Regular Season Debut
On April 18, 1946, The Montreal Royals hosted the Jersey City Giants. Robinson went 4-5 scoring 4 runs and 3 RBIs. -
Rookie of the Year
Robinson finished his first season with a .297 batting average, a .383 on-base percentage, 48 RBIs, 29 stolen bases, and 12 home runs. -
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The Major League Abuse
Multiple teams and players, including Robinson's own teammates, were very racist towards him, calling him the n-word and telling him to "go back to the cotton fields." The Dodgers managers quickly shut down abuse from the players of the Dodgers, but they could not do anything about the other teams, unfortunately. -
Major league Debut
Jackie made his MLB debut walking and scoring one run. The dodgers won 5-3 -
Jackie's Major league Career
Jackie played 10 seasons for the Dodgers, from 1947 to 1957, and he earned rookie of the year, MVP, and a World Series win in 1955. He was the first black person to play in the majors and was a pioneer of civil rights. -
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Life After the Majors
Jackie was voted into the hall of fame in 1965. He was a civil rights advocate and pushed for equal rights until his death. He died of a heart attack in 1972.
