Robinson, Jack (“Jackie”) Roosevelt

(1919-1972)

   Born in Georgia, Jackie Robinson grew up in Pasadena, California, and was a student at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he became the first student to letter in four sports—football, basketball, baseball, and track. He played professional football for the Los Angeles Bulldogs in 1941 and joined the army in 1942. He successfully fought to be admitted to integrated officer training but was court-martialed for refusing to accept segregation in public transport in 1944. He was given an honorable discharge. He joined the allblack Kansas City Monarchs baseball team in 1944 but was signed by Branch Rickey for the minor league team for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Montreal Royals, in 1946. On 15 April 1947, Robinson became the first African American to play major league baseball when he appeared for the Dodgers. Despite considerable abuse and provocation from some players and crowds, he was a great success, becoming rookie of the year in 1947 and the National League’s most valuable player in 1949, and he helped the Dodgers win six National League pennants between 1947 and 1956. He became the first African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Following his retirement from baseball in 1957, Robinson became vice president of Chock Full o’Nuts, a coffee house chain. He retired from that position in 1964 to campaign in the political arena. He was also active in civil rights as a member and fundraiser for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and he campaigned for the appointment of a black baseball manager. In 2005, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.