jackie robinson

The grandson of a slave, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia; he was the youngest of five children. Jackie grew up very poor, but little did he know that his athletic ability would open the doors for his future. After his father deserted the family when Jackie was six months old, his mother, Mallie Robinson, moved the family to California in search of work. California also subjected blacks to segregation at that time, but to less of a degree than in the Deep South. The young Jackie defused his anger over this prejudice by immersing himself in sports. He displayed extraordinary athletic skills in high school, excelling at football, basketball, baseball, and track. After helping Pasadena Junior College win the Junior College Football Championship, Robinson took his athletic ability to the University of California at Los Angeles and became a top collegiate running back in 1939.

Having used up his athletic eligibility, as well as having some financial trouble, Robinson left UCLA before graduating. After college he held a job with the National Youth Administration work camp until the camp was closed due to the onset of World War II. In the fall of 1941 he joined the Honolulu Bears professional football team. In 1942, Jackie Robinson was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was accepted into Officer Candidate School in Ft. Riley, Kansas and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in January 1943. While stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas, Robinson worked with heavyweight champion Joe Louis to eradicate unfair treatment of blacks in the military. However, inequities would persist in the armed forces for decades to come. He was later transferred to Ft. Hood, Texas where an incident in which he refused to move to the back of the bus found Court Martial charges brought up against him. He was found innocent, but was honorably discharged in 1944 on the grounds that his ankles had been weakened during his years of playing football.

Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League in 1945 for a reported $450 a month. Although he soon became one of the league's top players, he was not fond of the low pay and relentless traveling and apparently had no intention of making baseball a career. That attitude was changed due to the efforts of Brooklyn Dodger president Branch Rickey. Starting in 1943, Rickey had been searching for a black playe...

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...ckie Robinson’s debut. On that day, Major League Baseball announced that the number forty two would be retired throughout the Major League, an event that was symbolic of the impact that Robinson had on baseball.

Jackie Robinson always went his own way, answering to his own instincts and refusing to be swayed by those who objected to his choices. He never took for granted his role as a trailblazer in the integration of sports and the opening of opportunities for blacks in the United States. By being a man with incredible physical skills, mental fortitude, and competitive fire who arrived in the right place and at the right time in history, Robinson had a major impact on the black struggle for equality in the twentieth century.

Jackie Robinson's signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers was the most significant event to occur in baseball since World War II. Although Robinson may not have been the best athlete in the Negro Leagues it was his overall character, education, and social upbringing that appealed to Branch Rickey. Collectively, they paved the way for integrating the game, allowing some of the greatest players to participate who had previously been restricted to their own league.