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, M allie 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, was drafted into the U.
S. Army. He was accepted into Officer Candidate School in Ft. Riley, Kansas and was commissioned a 2 nd 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 player to bring into the major leagues, which were closed to blacks at the time. Previously part of the St. Louis Cardinal organization, Rickey made the move to Brooklyn. He felt that a more diverse culture would be a little more receptive to his plans. Ricky initiated his efforts by developing a plan to start up a new African American League made up of six franchises with one being the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers. The real truth was that it offered him a front to evaluate potential black talent to be integrated into the Major League.
In the beginning, it was actually Boston, not Brooklyn that showed interest in Robinson and the two other players; Sam Jethro e and Marvin Williams. Political pressure from Boston City Councilor Isador H. Y. Much nick prompted the tryout. He threatened to take away the Red Sox permit to hold games in Fenway Park on Sundays if efforts were not made to integrate the ball club. Plans were put together by Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Wendell Smith.
The tryouts led to a dead end, and none of the three players were signed. Ironically, Boston in 1959 would be the last team in the majors to integrate their ball club. However, on October 23, 1945, Robinson signed a contract with Rickey to play for the Montreal Royals; a Dodgers farm team in the International League. Prior to the signing, Ricky went through extreme detail with Robinson on what it would take to be successful in the majors. He tormented and ridiculed him with potential situations that he could encounter. Robinson was able to maintain his demeanor.
Jackie made a commitment to Ricky that for the next three years, regardless of the racial abuses he would receive, he would not fight back. Ricky impressed upon Robinson the need to turn the other cheek. He thoroughly understood that his actions would be center stage and that he had to show the discipline to hold his tongue. Many owners and sportswriters were against this integration, claiming that it would destroy major league baseball, but both Rickey and Robinson were confident of the move. Spring training in Florida was rough for Robinson due to segregation laws. He was forced to ride in the back of buses, and some games in which he was scheduled to play were canceled due to his presence.
Nevertheless, he proved his worth that season by leading the Royals to the championship in the Little World Series. His performance made it clear that he was ready for the major leagues, but not all of the Dodgers were supportive of moving Robinson up to the big time. Some players on the team circulated a petition saying that they wouldn’t play with Robinson, but hardly anyone signed it. When Rickey brought Robinson up to the Dodgers, he made the player promise to harness his temper when he was subjected to racial taunts on the playing field, at least for the first year. Robinson reluctantly agreed, but once a star he allowed his pride to resurface during disputes that were racially tinged. Jackie Robinson made his first professional appearance on August 18, 1947.
He went 4 for 5, hit a home run, had four runs batted in, scored four runs, and stole two bases. Even though he had a great performance, the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to go on strike, and then backed down when National League president Ford Frick threatened to ban all strikers from professional baseball. Pitchers often threw the ball directly at Robinson, base runners tried to spike him, and he was subjected to a steady stream of racial insults. He received hate mail, death threats, and even warnings that his baby boy would be kidnapped. Through it all, Robinson held his tongue in deference to Rickey’s wishes.
Robinson let his playing do the talking, and before long he was known as one of the most exciting players in baseball. Soon fans both black and white were filling ballparks to see him in action, and the Dodgers set new attendance records. Most of his fellow teammates fully supported him as they became convinced of Robinson’s value to the club. The Dodgers won the pennant in 1947 and Jackie, at the age of twenty eight, was named Rookie of the Year, an award that would be named after him in 1987. In 1949, Robinson moved to second base and won the National League’s Most Valuable Player award while leading the Dodgers to the National League title. He led the league in stolen bases with thirty seven and finished on top with a.
342 batting average. He also played in the first All-Star game alongside Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe. By this time Robinson was famous throughout the world. He had a string of six consecutive seasons batting over.
300 and became renowned for his daring steals of home. In 1951, he again led the league with a. 338 batting average. In the last game of the season the Dodgers were tied against the Phillies in the 12 th inning with two outs when Robinson made a diving catch for a hard hit fly. He jammed his elbow into his stomach and was knocked unconscious. Two innings later he hit a game winning home run which resulted in a tie for the pennant between the Dodgers and the Giants.
The Giants went on to win the pennant. His success had opened the door to a string of other great black players such as Monte Irvin, Larry Do by, Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, and Junior Gilliam. Robinson was elected to the National League All-Star team every year between 1949 and 1954. In 1955, the Dodgers won the World Series over their cross town rivals the New York Yankees. Robinson stole home in the first game creating the spark needed for the Dodgers to overcome their previous disappointing history in the series. As his fame grew, Robinson became more eager in his protests against racist attitudes, and he offered more support for civil rights causes.
His status on the team, however, changed in the 1951 season due to Rickey being replaced as president of the Dodgers by Walter O’Malley. A tremendous admirer of Rickey, Robinson was greatly disappointed by the changing of the guard, especially since O’Malley was less tolerant than Rickey of his speaking out on racial issues. Nevertheless, Robinson continued offering support for black causes and advice to black players in particular, including those on opposing teams. Robinson’s glory years as a player were coming to an end by the mid-1950 s.
He had developed a bad relationship with manager Walter Alston, and his average fell to. 256 in 1955 during an injury-plagued season. After being sold in December of 1956 to the New York Giants, Robinson announced his retirement in the January 1957 issue of Look magazine. In the article, Robinson claimed that his body had passed its prime and could no longer perform at the major league level.
He finished with a. 311 career average and 19 career steals of home — the most by any player in the post-World War II era. Soon after his playing days were over, Robinson’s health declined dramatically. He had to begin receiving insulin shots for diabetes and at one point went into a diabetic coma.
In his later years the diabetic condition would take away his sight in one eye and significantly reduce his sight in the other. After his retirement Robinson became a successful businessman and active supporter of political causes, devoting many of his efforts to the pursuit of a better life for African Americans. He became a vice president in the Chock Full O’Nuts restaurant chain, whose restaurants employed many blacks. He also worked with the Harlem YMCA in New York City and was made chairman of the board of the Freedom National Bank, a project in black capitalism. He later became the head of a construction company that built housing for black families and was involved in other ventures that stimulated black participation in business.
Refusing to compromise his values, Robinson rejected an offer of membership in a private golf club when he learned that some members had objected to accepting an African American member. Despite his fame, he pursued his golf game at public courses. In the political arena, Robinson campaigned for Senator Hubert Humphrey’s bid for nomination on the Democratic presidential ticket in 1960. Then, despite objections from fellow Democrats, he switched parties to work for Richard Nixon in the presidential campaign because he felt that Nixon had helped support civil rights causes. Continuing to plot his own course, Robinson resigned his position as special assistant for community affairs on Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s staff in 1968 to once against campaign for presidential-hopeful Hubert Humphrey. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 in his first year of eligibility.
Even then he was surrounded by controversy, as fellow elected Bob Feller said that he didn’t want to enter the Hall of Fame at the same time as Robinson. At his induction, Robinson called up three people from the audience to stand with him as he accepted the honor: his mother, his wife, and Branch Rickey. Robinson’s respect and admiration for Rickey had never changed. He knew how important Rickey had been at helping blacks enter mainstream sports in the United States. When Rickey died in 1965, Robinson complained about the low number of blacks who had come to the funeral. According to The New York Times Book of Sport Legends, Robinson said, ‘I considered Mr.
Rickey the greatest human being I had ever known.’ Perhaps the cruelest blow to Robinson occurred in 1971, when his son, Jackie Jr. , died in a car accident. Three years earlier, the younger Robinson had been arrested for heroin possession due to an addiction he had developed-and later kicked-after being wounded in Vietnam. Jackie Robinson remained active in national campaigns against drug addiction right up to his own death.
By the early 1970 s Robinson was still pressing for more integration in sports, and most of all wanted to see a black manager in professional baseball. His hopes would not come true until after his death. In 1974 Frank Robinson became the first black major league manager, taking over the reins of the Cleveland Indians. Robinson was specially honored in 1972, when he was asked to throw out the ball to open the second game of the 75 th World Series at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
Although still in his early 50 s, Robinson was in shaky physical health by this time. He had survived one heart attack, and his body had suffered from years of diabetes and high blood pressure. Less than two weeks after his ceremonial toss at the World Series, he collapsed at his home in Stamford, Connecticut and died later that day: October 24, 1972. His funeral at Riverside Church in New York City attracted more than 2, 500 people, including many celebrities and political dignitaries. Thousands lined the streets as Robinson’s body was taken to Cypress Hills National Cemetery. In 1990, The Jackie Robinson Foundation dedicated a new headstone at his grave site.
The stone reads, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on the lives of others.” On April 15, 1997 President Bill Clinton participated in a ceremony honoring the 50 th anniversary of Jackie 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.