[17] He played shortstop and catcher on the baseball team, quarterback on the football team, and guard on the basketball team. With the track and field squad, he won awards in the broad jump. He identified himself as a political independent,[247][248] although he held conservative opinions on several issues, including the Vietnam War (he once wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. to defend the Johnson Administration's military policy). "[139], Robinson was also derided by opposing teams. The UCLA Bruins baseball team plays in Jackie Robinson Stadium,[318] which, because of the efforts of Jackie's brother Mack, features a memorial statue of Robinson by sculptor Richard H. Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier on July 5, 1947 with the Cleveland Indians. Airport police asked Robinson to leave, but he refused. [161] In February 1948, he signed a $12,500 contract (equal to $140,980 today) with the Dodgers; while a significant amount, this was less than Robinson made in the off-season from a vaudeville tour, where he answered pre-set baseball questions and a speaking tour of the South. [157] Robinson also talked frequently with Larry Doby, who endured his own hardships since becoming the first black player in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, as the two spoke to one another via telephone throughout the season. The rotunda was dedicated at the opening of Citi Field on April 16, 2009. Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, to a family of sharecroppers. We never had a threatening or unpleasant experience there. [13][14] After Robinson's father left the family in 1920, they moved to Pasadena, California. [66], Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas; thus, he never saw combat action. [170] Ultimately, the Dodgers won the National League pennant, but lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the 1949 World Series. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another. [324] His home in Brooklyn, the Jackie Robinson House, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976,[325] and Brooklyn residents sought to turn his home into a city landmark. [89] Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets. [98] Among those with whom Rickey discussed prospects was Wendell Smith, writer for the black weekly Pittsburgh Courier, who, according to Cleveland Indians owner and team president Bill Veeck, "influenced Rickey to take Jack Robinson, for which he's never completely gotten credit. After Robinson left the army, Rickey, the then-GM of the Brooklyn Dodgers, saw Jackie play for the Kansas Monarchs. [273], After Robinson's death, his widow founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and she remains an officer as of 2021. On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the Jersey City Giants' season opener against the Montreal Royals, marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the first time the color barrier had been broken in a game between two minor league clubs. [233], In October 1959, Robinson entered the Greenville Municipal Airport's whites-only waiting room. After Jack's philandering father abandoned the family, his mother. He was born during a Spanish flu and smallpox epidemic. [75] Robinson took the former player's advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird. [93] For the performance Robinson earned the Most Valuable Player Award for the National League. [264] He enlisted in the Army in search of a disciplined environment, served in the Vietnam War, and was wounded in action on November 19, 1965. Based on . [52] Robinson was aghast: "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back? [37] Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. "[151], However, Robinson received significant encouragement from several major league players. Clay Hopper, the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodger affiliate, but Rickey refused. [93][267] Robinson's funeral service on October 27, 1972, at Upper Manhattan's Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, attracted 2,500 mourners. With Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson played his initial major league season as a first baseman. [41] Shortly afterward, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged. [48], While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum (b.1922), a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career at PJC. In an interview with Dave Roberts, manager of the L.A. Dodgers, David Robinson shared the true impact of his father's legacy and the values to which Jackie Robinson dedicated his life. [171], In 1950, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman with 133. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born near Cairo, Georgia in 1919, the son of sharecroppers and the grandson of enslaved workers. During the last game of the regular season, in the 13th inning, he had a hit to tie the game and then hit a home run in the 14th inning, which proved to be the winning margin. [52][81] Although he played well for the Monarchs, Robinson was frustrated with the experience. [206] Robinson exhibited the combination of hitting ability and speed which exemplified the new era. [104] He was not necessarily the best player in the Negro leagues,[105] and black talents Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were upset when Robinson was selected first. [140] According to a press report, the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson played and spread the walkout across the entire National League. When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united thirty men. He was survived by his wife Delano, their three sons and three daughters, a son and daughter from previous marriages, twenty-five grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. [126] He also scored four runs, drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 141 victory. 1990. [102] In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment",[52][103] Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s. Photo via Google Maps . Jackie Robinson died in 1972, a year after Jackie Jr. died. Rachel, Sharon and David Robinson are living as of 2015. [48] In 2002, Molefi Kete Asante included Robinson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. [211] After playing his rookie season at first base,[93] Robinson spent most of his career as a second baseman. [255] He made his final public appearance on October 15, 1972, nine days before his death,[256] throwing the ceremonial first pitch before Game2 of the World Series at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. [90] He left the tryout humiliated,[87] and more than 14 years later, in July 1959, the Red Sox became the final major league team to integrate its roster. This guy didn't just come to play. Muchnick. "[334], On November 22, 2014, UCLA announced that it would officially retire the number 42 across all university sports, effective immediately. In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began to scout the Negro leagues for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. [197], In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs scored, a .275 batting average, and 12 steals. [131][137] However, racial tension existed in the Dodger clubhouse. Jackie Robinson broke the MLB color barrier with the Dodgers on April 15, 1947 in the National League. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, a sleepy Southern town near the Florida border. "[186] He finished the season with 106 runs scored, a batting average of .335, and 25 stolen bases. [229], Robinson once told future Hall of Fame inductee Hank Aaron that "the game of baseball is great, but the greatest thing is what you do after your career is over. [9][93] In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945,[94] Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrilya concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military. "[307][308][309] The museum opened in 2023. [159] His cumulative performance earned him the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National and American League Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949). [281] Also in 1999, he ranked number 44 on the Sporting News list of Baseball's 100 Greatest Players[282] and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top vote-getter among second basemen. Jackie was the youngest of five children who grew up in a relatively poor section of Pasadena CA. [4] Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.[5]. [136] After World War II, several other forces were also leading the country toward increased equality for blacks, including their accelerated migration to the North, where their political clout grew, and President Harry Truman's desegregation of the military in 1948. Since 1997, only Wayne Gretzky's number 99, retired by the NHL in 2000, and Bill Russell's number 6, retired by the NBA in 2022, have been retired league-wide in any of the four major sports. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. "[153] Regarding Robinson's qualities on the field, Leo Durocher said, "Ya want a guy that comes to play. [7] In 1999, he was posthumously named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Along with the museum, scholarships will be awarded to "young people who live by and embody Jackie's ideals. "[99], Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, 1945. [72] Robinson's performance soon rebounded. None of the latter were double steals (in which a player stealing home is assisted by a player stealing another base at the same time). [298], As an exception to the retired-number policy, MLB began honoring Robinson by allowing players to wear number 42 on April 15, Jackie Robinson Day, which is an annual observance that started in 2004. [113][114][115] Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility,[116] scheduling was subject to the whim of area localities, several of which turned down any event involving Robinson or Johnny Wright, another black player whom Rickey had signed to the Dodgers' organization in January. [35][64], An event on July 6, 1944, derailed Robinson's military career. [162] Robinson's interests began to shift toward the prospect of managing a major league team. [270][271] Many of his former teammates, other famous baseball players, and basketball star Bill Russell served as pallbearers, and the Rev. He was the youngest of five children. Growing up during the African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and in the Robinson home where such issues were at the core of everyday life, David Robinson has spent the last 40 years involved in the development of racial and human opportunity. [66][72], By the time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning. "[180][181][182], Before the 1951 season, O'Malley reportedly offered Robinson the job of manager of the Montreal Royals, effective at the end of Robinson's playing career. During Jackie Robinson 's youth in California, his older . [66][70], After Robinson's commander in the 761st, Paul L. Bates, refused to authorize the legal action,[71] Robinson was summarily transferred to the 758th Battalionwhere the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink. 1950), and David Robinson (b. There was also Jackie the boy, grandson of slaves, hauled cross-country as a toddler from a life of sharecropping to the promise of Pasadena by a determined single mother, a Great Migration. [59] After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and with the help of Truman Gibson (then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War),[60] the men were accepted into OCS. [141] Regardless, the report led to Robinson receiving increased support from the sports media. In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. Born on January 31 51 Deceased on October 24 41 Baseball 44 Family tree Report an error Robinson Willis 1842 - 1870 Robinson Violet 1840 - Love Henry 1848 - Henderson Clara 1845 - 1920 McGriff Jacob 1805 - McGriff Rutha 1810 - Sims Henry 1845 - 1921 Pullens Lucy 1834 - 1904 Robinson Tony 1862 - 1932 Henderson Florence 1864 - 1951 McGriff Washington [144] The Cardinals players denied that they were planning to strike, and Woodward later told author Roger Kahn that Frick was his true source; writer Warren Corbett said that Frick's speech "never happened". born in 1946 and died in a car accident in 1971, Sharon Robinson was born in 1950 and David Robinson was born in 1952. [164], Racial pressure on Robinson eased in 1948 when a number of other black players entered the major leagues. [40][41], He was one of four black players on the Bruins' 1939 football team; the others were Woody Strode, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett. 42 as part of Jackie Robinson Day tribute", "MLB players to wear #42 Monday to honor Jackie Robinson Day", "Jackie Robinson Rotunda dedicated at Citi Field", "Jackie Robinson Museum opens in Manhattan", "Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation extends partnership with The Jackie Robinson Foundation through $800,000 grant for college scholarships", "Jackie Robinson statue unveiled at Dodger Stadium", "The 2010 Aflac National High School Player of The Year Nominees Announced", Baseball awards#U.S. [148] On April 22, 1947, during a game between the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies players and manager Ben Chapman called Robinson a "nigger" from their dugout and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields". [35] Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incidentalong with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and policegave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism. [162][204][207] Robinson was one of only two players during the span of 194756 to accumulate at least 125 steals while registering a slugging percentage over .425 (Minnie Mioso was the other). "[27], After Muir, Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career by participating in basketball, football, baseball, and track. The Dodgers tried Robinson in the outfield and as a third baseman, both because of his diminishing abilities and because Gilliam was established at second base. The people were so welcoming and saw Jack as a player and as a man. [76], After his discharge, Robinson briefly returned to his old football club, the Los Angeles Bulldogs. City Island Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida was renamed Jackie Robinson Ballpark in 1990 and a statue of Robinson with two children stands in front of the ballpark. Jackie Robinson. [296][297] There have also been calls for MLB to retire number 21 league-wide in honor of Roberto Clemente, a sentiment opposed by the Robinson family. [243] He also served as the bank's first chairman of the board. [154][155] A statue by sculptor William Behrends, unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, 2005, depicts Reese with his arm around Robinson. [167] The tutelage helped Robinson raise his batting average from .296 in 1948 to .342 in 1949. After it was published, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. Robinson's older brother was a silver medalist at the Olympics. He had hoped to gain experience by managing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but according to the New York Post, Commissioner Happy Chandler denied the request. [269], Robinson did not outlive his son by very long. [317], A number of buildings have been named in Robinson's honor. His wife Rachel was present for the dedication on September 15. [250] Robinson was angered by the 1964 presidential election candidacy of conservative Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, who had opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Before Jack and I moved to Montreal, we had just been through some very rough treatment in the racially biased South during spring training in Florida. Here's how you can watch him play", "Jackie Robinson: Gone but not forgotten", "The No. This forced a best-of-three playoff series against the crosstown rival New York Giants. [299] The gesture was originally the idea of outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., who sought Rachel Robinson's permission to wear the number. Rachel and their three children, Jackie Jr., Sharon and David, provided Jackie with the emotional support and sense of purpose essential for bearing the pressure during the early years of baseball. After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field. That year, he served as editor for Our Sports magazine, a periodical focusing on Negro sports issues; contributions to the magazine included an article on golf course segregation by Robinson's old friend Joe Louis. Overcoming his dejection, Robinson dutifully observed Thomson's feet to ensure he touched all the bases. How these 3 hashtags from Black . [128] Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example),[72] the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson. She became an assistant professor at the Yale School of Nursing and director of nursing at the Connecticut Mental Health Center. [200], Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the baseball color line. [236], In his first year of eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962,[73] Robinson encouraged voters to consider only his on-field qualifications, rather than his cultural impact on the game. Robinson died at age 85 at a hospital in Pasadena on March 12, 2000. Sharon (born in 1950) had a successful . [165] In 1948, Wendell Smith's book, Jackie Robinson: My Own Story, was released. That's Only a Quarter of Story", "Teammates Recall Jackie Robinson's Legacy", "The Interrelated Back Stories of Kenny Washington Reintegrating the NFL in 1946 and Jackie Robinson Integrating Major League Baseball in 1947", "Jackie Robinson's football career at UCLA hinted at greatness to come, and a 'Toy Story' character", "Outdoor Track and Field: Division I Men's", "Alumnus Jackie Robinson honored by Congress", "Black History Biographies Jackie Robinson", "Truman K. Gibson, who fought Army segregation, is dead at 93", "Jackie Robinson, College Basketball Coach", "Jackie Robinson A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress", "The Boston Red Sox and Racism: With New Owners, Team Confronts Legacy of Intolerance", "The Ball Stayed White, but the Game Did Not", "Jackie Robinson Breaks Baseball's Color Barrier, 1945", "Breaking a barrier 60 years before Robinson", "A Field of Dreams: The Jackie Robinson Ballpark", "Jackie Robinson Ballpark / Daytona Cubs", "Jackie Robinson breaks major league color barrier", "The 'Strike' Against Jackie Robinson: Truth or Myth? [23][243] Robinson always considered his business career as advancing the cause of black people in commerce and industry. Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the team's four backfield players. The local Boys and Girls . Stolen bases Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in 1950, received! 'S advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird live by and Jackie! 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