Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. Soon after his birth his father abandoned his family. His mother, Mallie Robinson decided to move the family to Pasadena California in 1920. While growing up in Pasadena Jackie and his minority friends felt the sting of prejudice by being excluded from the various recreational activities offered to young people in the area because of the color of their skin. In 1935 Jackie attended John Muir High School and it was here that his talent for sports was recognized. He loved all sports and being allowed to play them in high school he joined just about every team the school had to offer. On the baseball team he played shortstop and catcher. On the football team he played quarterback and a guard for the basketball team. Jackie won awards for the broad jump on the track and field. In 1936 he won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament. In 1936 he was also named a player for the Pomona annual all star team. Interesting to note 2 other players on the team were Ted Williams and Bob Lemon who both became members of the elite Baseball Hall of Fame.
After high school Jackie attended Pasadena Junior College and continued playing baseball, basketball, football and track. After graduating from this 2 year college Jackie decided to enter the University of California, Los Angeles. Jackie was the first athlete in UCLA's history to win varsity letters in four sports; baseball, basketball, football and track. Robinson quit college before receiving his degree to take a government agency job as an assistant athletic director with the National Youth Administration in Atascadero, California.
JACKIE
In 1945 Jackie began his career in professional baseball in the Negro League playing for the Kansas City Monarchs. He played 47 games that season at the shortstop position. He batted an average of.387 with 5 home runs and 13 bases stolen. He was also named to the Negro League All-Star team. During this season Jackie tried out for the Boston Red Sox but was so humiliated by the racial slurs that he abruptly left the try outs. On October 23rd, 1945 Jackie Robinson signed with the International League farm club, the Montreal Royals, the first black player since the 1880's. The Royals were part of the Brooklyn Dodger's organization. Jackie played his first game in the season opener on April 18th, 1946 against the Jersey City Giants. That year Robinson lead the International League with a.349 batting average and a.985 fielding percentage. He was also named the Most Valuable Player in the league that season.
In the 1947 season Jackie Robinson was called up to the major league Dodger's team. Robinson's achievement of breaking the color barrier in baseball came with a price. During games he had to endure racial slurs from opposing team members and fans in the stands. Peewee Reese who was a teammate of Robinson came to Jackie's aid during one of these confrontations. Reese put his arm around Jackie's shoulder and said, " You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." Jackie received the Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year. Jackie Robinson played his last major league game for the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 10th, 1956.
Besides the awards and achievements already mentioned Jackie was a 6 time All-Star selection, 1 time World Series champion and National League Most Valuable Player. He was also named to the Major Baseball League All-Century Team. His career stats were also pretty impressive with a.311 career batting average, 1518 hits, 137 home runs, 734 runs batted in and 197 stolen bases. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, the first black player ever, and in 1972 his #42 jersey was retired by all the major league teams. Jackie Robinson died from a heart attack in Stamford Connecticut on October 24th, 1972. He was 53 years old.
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Jackie Robinson - Baseball Legend JACKIE
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