Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson was born on January 3, 1919 in the state of Georgia.  He was the youngest of five children.

Jackie Robinson’s inspiration

Jackie Robinson was inspired by his older brother Mack who left the family business to pursue his talents as an athlete.  Mack participated in the Olympics and won a silver medal.  When Mack returned, he could not find a job and was left to be a garbage man.  Even after wining Mack did not get any respect. Jackie was very disturbed by this and decided he had to take charge and make things right.

Jackie’s career during school

After he graduated from Washington Junior High School Jackie went to Muir High School.  He then went to Pasadena Junior College where he was a successful athlete in many sports including basketball, football, baseball, and track.

In 1938, Jackie was elected to the All-Southland Junior College  Baseball Team and was selected as the regions most valuable player.  After he graduated from Pasadena Junior College Jackie enrolled at UCLA, and became the school’s first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports!

Jackie’s military service

In 1942, Jackie Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated army unit in Kansas.

During his service Jackie faced a lot of racism.  The most known incident was when Jackie was on his way home and he boarded an army bus. On these buses the Caucasian people would sit in the front, and the African Americans had to sit in the back.  This was very demeaning and made the African Americans feel very inferior.  Jackie, who felt very strongly about racism did not agree to sit in the back and he was sentenced to jail because he sat in the front.  However, he was released almost immediately because of his high rank in the army.

After the military

After serving in the military, Jackie Robinson was offered to join the Negro Leagues and to play for the Kansas City Monarchs. Although the Negro Leagues were considered to be inferior teams, Jackie played very well.  In only 47 games as shortstop he hit 387.  While Jackie played in the Negro Leagues he was disappointed and wanted to play in a more serious league and to be treated as an equal.

Jackie wanted to play in the major leagues and went to try out with fellow African American teammates for the Boston Red Sox at Fenwey park.  At the tryouts the Red Sox degraded them and designed the whole tryout to embarrass them.  Jackie left these tryouts humiliated and disappointed.

However, unlike the Red Sox, there were some teams that were serious about signing an African American player.  Branch Rickey, Club President and Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers selected Jackie from a list of very impressive African American players for an interview for the Montreal Royals.  Branch Rickey chose him not only because of his talent but also because he was looking for someone who could handle racism.  Robinson asked Rickey “You want a player who doesn’t have the guts to fight back?” and Rickey responded “I want a player who has the guts NOT to fight back.”

The Brooklyn Dodgers

Ricky signed Jackie Robinson as the first African American to be in the Major Leagues; and with that Jackie broke the color barrier.  Being the only African American player on an all Caucasian team was not easy for Jackie. He had to handle lots of racism even from some of his teammates.

On April 15, 1947 Robinson played his first game at Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers; making history as being the first African American athlete to play in Major League Baseball in the 20th century.  It wasn’t easy for Robinson. During games the crowd would mock and make fun of him and his family would often get threatened.  One memorable incident, was when during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, a lot of people started to jeer Robinson and threatened not to play, including their manager, Ben Chapman.  Even some of Jackie’s teammates threatened to sit out.  Luckily, Jackie’s loyal manager Leo Durocher informed them that he would more likely kick them off the team then Robinson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9RHqdZDCF0&feature=youtu.be

Accomplishments

Aside from breaking the color barrier and becoming the first African American athlete to play in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson had many other accomplishments as a Baseball player:

1. Jackie Robinson was named rookie of the year in 1947.

2. Jackie was named the National League MVP in 1949.

3.  Jackie Robinson was also named World Series champ in 1955.

4. Jackie, who was famous for stealing home, stole 19 times setting a league record.

5.  Jackie had a: 311 bating average, 137 home runs, 1518 hits, 734 RBI and a 409 on base percentage.

6. Jackie Robinson is in the Baseball Hall Of Fame.

7.  Jackie Robinson’s number 42 is retired from all baseball teams.

8. In the New York Mets Baseball Stadium “City Field,” the entrance is dedicated to Jackie and his wife and it is called: ” The Jackie Robinson Rotunda.”

Jackie Robinson’s family: 

Jackie married Rachel on February 10, 1946.

During Jackie’s Major League carrier, the couple faced a lot of racism including insults, being cursed during games, and even death threats. Jackie and Rachel had 3 kids: the oldest was Jack Robinson Junior, then Sharon Robinson and the youngest was David Robinson. Jack Junior sadly died in a car crash at the age of 24. Sharon became a author and consultant for Major League Baseball.  David moved to Africa to a coffee farm and had ten children.  Jackie Robinson cared a lot about his family and went to great lengths to give his children and wife happy lives.

Retirement:

Jackie Robinson retired on January 5, 1957.

He became active in business and worked for social change. He also helped establish the first African American owned and controlled Freedom Bank.

The Jackie Robinson Foundation: 

Jackie Robinson died at the young age of 53 from heart problems and diabetes.

After his death, his wife Rachel founded The Jackie Robinson Foundation which was dedicated to honoring and learning from Jackie’s life and accomplishments. This foundation helps young people in need by providing scholarships and mentoring programs.

The Movie:

In 2013, Brian Helgeland created the movie ’42’ based on Jackie Robinson’s life. The movie is very powerful and has a strong message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P5jHPzoWQo

Summary

Jackie Robinson was a real hero.  He didn’t just sit back and use his athletic talent, but Jackie instead decided to make a change for African Americans and work towards ending segregation.  It is to his credit that today people of all races are treated equally in baseball and have the same chances as one another to succeed.

From this project we learnt how important it is to not accept things that don’t feel right and to be active and work on making changes.  We hope that in our lives we take this message to heart and hopefully one day make a difference just like Jackie did.