Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. His father Jerry was a plantation worker, his mother Mallie a domestic. The youngest of five, his elder brother Mack went on to win a silver medal behind Jessie Owens at the 1936 Olympics. Jackie Robinson’s father left the family when he was six moths old, leaving Mallie to look after the family. She moved with her children to Pasadena California in 1920.
Pastor Karl Downs of the Pasadena Methodist church encouraged young Jackie to play sports and he soon excelled at football, tennis, basketball, and track. In athletics Robinson had more freedom to compete on equal terms, race was less of a factor in California. White players came to respect Robinson for his ability as a star quarterback, broad-jumper, and baseball player.
Robinson’s athletic ability landed him a place at the nearby UCLA. He was the first student to ever receive varsity letters in soccer, football, basketball and baseball. This feat lent great national publicity. Sadly, Robinson had to leave college in 1941 due to financial difficulties; he was just shy of earning a degree.
Robinson left college determined to make a career as a professional athlete. His first semi-professional gig took him to Hawaii, where he played football for the Honolulu Bears. The job was part-time and Robinson worked construction jobs on weekdays. After one short season, Robinson left Hawaii, just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 1942, at the onset of war, the Army drafted Robinson as a private, and by 1943 he had risen to the rank of lieutenant. Due to an ankle injury, he never saw combat and remained stateside at Fort Hood, Texas. In 1944 he refused to move to the back of the bus which in turn led to his arrest and eventual court martial. Robinson was acquitted of all charges and left the Army with an honorable discharge in the autumn of 1944.
The Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League signed Robinson for $400 a month in 1945. His .400 average on the Monarchs came to the attention of Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers who recruited him to play for the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers’ minor league affiliate.
In 1946 Jackie Robinson married Rachel Issum. Together they had three children: Jackie Robinson Jr. (1946), Sharon (1950) and David (1952).
After one year playing for the Montreal Royals, Jackie Robinson was called up to the big leagues where he opened the season playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His first game, April 15, 1947, marked the breaking of baseball’s color barrier. Robinson led the Dodgers to National League pennants for six of the ten seasons he played for the team and he was an integral part of the Dodgers’ 1955 World Series championship team.
After retiring from the Major Leagues in January 1957, Robinson turned his full attention towards advocacy work, using his high public profile to great effect. He became a chief spokesman and fundraiser for the NAACP in 1958. Robinson also joined in protest with Dr. Martin Luther King at Birmingham, Alabama, for a series of sit–ins, boycotts and nonviolent demonstrations in May 1963. A few years later Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York made him his civil rights adviser.
Toward the end of his life Robinson remained active in securing a better future for African Americans. The Robinson Construction Company was organized in 1970 to provide housing for low and middle income blacks. Robinson was also one of the founders of Freedom National Bank in Harlem. His final public appearance was at the 1972 World Series in Cincinnati, where he expressed his wish to see a black manager in the major leagues. His wish would be granted two years later when Frank Robinson (no relation) became manager of the Cleveland Indians.
Unfortunately, Jackie Robinson was not able to see this wish come true. On October 4, 1972 he died of a heart attack at the age of 53.
In 1962 Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Thirty five years later his number, 42, was permanently retired by every major league team.
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