Jackie Robinson
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Brooklyn Dodger infielder Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947. (Photograph by Bob Sandberg, 1954.)
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) became the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era in 1947. Robinson's achievement was recognized by Major League Baseball on April, 15, 1997 by the retirement of his uniform number, 42, in every major league baseball stadium.
Contents[hide]· 1 Before the Major League · 2 The Dodgers · 3 Post-Dodgers · 4 See also · 5 External links
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Before the Major League
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson moved with his mother and siblings to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father deserted the family. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player of football, basketball, track, and baseball. He played with Kenny Washington, who would become one of the first black players in the National Football League since the early 1930s. Robinson also met his future wife Rachel at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens.
After leaving UCLA his senior year, Robinson enlisted in the US Army during World War II. He trained with the segregated U.S. 761st Tank Battalion. Initially refused entry to Officer Candidate School, he fought for it and eventually was accepted, graduating as a second lieutenant. While training at Fort Hood, Texas, Robinson refused to go to the back of a bus. He was court-martialed for insubordination, and thus never shipped out to Europe with his unit. He received an honorable discharge in 1944, after being acquitted of all charges at the court-martial.
Jackie played baseball in 1944 for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League where he caught the eye of Clyde Sukeforth, a scout working for Branch Rickey.
Number originally retired June 4, 1972 Retired throughout North American baseball April 15, 1997
Jackie Robinson Position 2B (748 games)3B (356 games)1B (197 games)OF (162 games)SS (1 game) MLB Seasons 10 Team(s) Brooklyn Dodgers Debut April 15, 1947 Final Game September 30, 1956 Total Games 1,382 batting1,364 fielding NL Pennants 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956 World Series Teams 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956 All-Star Teams 1949 (2B),1950 (2B),1951 (2B),1952 (2B),1953 (3B),1954 (OF) Awards Rookie of the Year (1947) National League MVP (1949) NL batting leader(.342 - 1949) Baseball Hall of Fame (1962) Nickname "Jackie" [edit] The Dodgers Branch Rickey was the club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who harbored the secret goal of signing the Negro Leagues' top players to the team. Although there was no official ban on blacks in organized baseball, previous attempts at signing black ballplayers had been thwarted by league officials and rival clubs in the past, so Rickey operated undercover. His scouts were told that they were seeking players for a new all-black league Rickey was forming; not even the scouts knew his true objective. Robinson drew national attention when Rickey selected him from a list of promising candidates and signed him. In 1946, Robinson was assigned to play for the Dodgers' minor league affiliate, the Montreal Royals. Although that season was very tiring emotionally for Robinson, it was also a spectacular success. The fans treated him with all the support that made the Canadian city a welcome refuge from the racial harassment he experienced elsewhere. Robinson was a somewhat curious candidate to be the first black Major Leaguer in sixty years (see Moses Fleetwood Walker). Not only was he 27 (relatively old for a prospect), he also had a fiery temperament. While some felt his more laid-back future teammate Roy Campanella might have been a better candidate to face the expected abuse, Rickey chose Robinson knowing that Jackie's outspoken nature would, in the long run, be more beneficial for their cause than Campanella's relative docility. However, to ease the transition, Rickey asked Robinson to try to restrain his temper and his outspokenness for his first two years, and to moderate his natural reaction to the abuse. Aware of what was at stake, Robinson acquiesced. Robinson's debut at first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947 (he batted 0 for 3) was one of the most eagerly-awaited events in baseball history, and one of the most profound in the history of the U.S. civil rights movement. Although he played his entire rookie year at first base, Robinson spent most of his career as a second baseman. He also played many games at third base and in the outfield. During that first season, the abuse to which Robinson was subjected made him come close to losing his patience more than once. Many Dodgers were initially resistant to his presence. A group of Dodger players, mostly Southerners led by Dixie Walker, suggested they would strike rather than play alongside Robinson, but the mutiny was ended when Dodger management informed the players they were welcome to find employment elsewhere. He did have the support of Kentucky-born shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who proved to be his closest comrade on the team. In a now legendary show of support, Reese put his arm around Robinson’s shoulder to indicate his support. The pair became a very effective double-play combination as a result. Pittsburgh Pirate Hank Greenberg, the first major Jewish baseball star who experienced anti-semitic abuse, also gave Robinson encouragement. Throughout that first season, Robinson experienced considerable harassment from both players and fans. The Philadelphia Phillies - encouraged by manager Ben Chapman- were particularly abusive. In their April 22 game against the Dodgers, they barracked him continually, calling him a "nigger" from the bench, telling him to "go back to the jungle." Rickey would later recall that "Chapman did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united 30 men." Baseball Commissioner A. B. "Happy" Chandler I admonished the Phillies but asked Robinson to pose for photographs with Chapman as a conciliatory gesture. To his credit, Robinson didn't refuse. In Robinson's rookie season, he earned the major-league minimum salary of $5000. He played in 151 games, hit .297, and was the league leader in stolen bases with 29.
Statue at Montreal's Olympic Stadium
Robinson was awarded the Rookie of the Year award in 1947, and the Most Valuable Player award for the National League in 1949. In 1955, though clearly on the downside of his career, Robinson would play a prominent role in leading the Brooklyn Dodgers to their first and only World Series championship in Brooklyn, in a seven game victory over the New York Yankees.
Robinson's Major League career was fairly short. He did not enter the majors until he was 28, and was often injured as he aged. But in his prime, he was respected by every opposing team in the league not only for his obvious talent, but his fiery temperment and effort on the field.
After the 1956 season, Robinson was sold by the Dodgers to the New York Giants (soon to become the San Francisco Giants.) Rather than report to the Giants, however, Robinson chose to retire at age 37. This sale further added to Robinson's growing disillusionment with the Dodgers, and in particular Walter O'Malley (who had forced Rickey out as General Manager) and manager Walter Alston.
Robinson was an exceptionally talented and disciplined hitter, with a career average of .311 and substantially more walks than strikeouts. He played several defensive positions extremely well and was the most aggressive and successful baserunner of his era; he was among the few players to "steal home" frequently[1], doing so at least 19 documented times, including a famous steal of home in the 1955 World Series. His speed and physical presence often disrupted the concentration of pitchers, catchers and middle infielders. Robinson was among the best players of his era, but his lasting contribution to the game will remain his grace under enormous pressure in breaking baseball’s so-called color barrier. In one of his most famous quotes, he said "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."
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Post-Dodgers
Jackie Robinson and his son David
Being Interviewed at the "March on Washington"
August 28, 1963
From the National Archives
Robinson retired from the game on January 5, 1957. He wanted to manage or coach in the major leagues, but received no offers. He became a vice-president for the Chock Full O' Nuts corporation instead, and served on the board of the NAACP till 1967, when he resigned because of the movement's lack of younger voices. In 1960, he involved himself in the presidential election, campaigning first for Hubert Humphrey. Then, after meeting both Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, Robinson supported Nixon, citing his record on civil rights. He campaigned diligently for Humphrey in 1968. After Nixon was elected in 1968, Robinson wrote that he regretted the previous endorsement.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility, becoming the first African-American so honored. On June 4, 1972 the Dodgers retired his uniform number 42 alongside Roy Campanella (39) and Sandy Koufax (32).
Robinson made his final public appearance on October 14, 1972 before Game 2 of the World Series in Cincinnati. He used this opportunity to express his wish for a black manager to be hired by a major league baseball team. This wish was granted two years later, following the 1974 season, when the Cleveland Indians gave their managerial post to Frank Robinson, (no relation to Jackie Robinson) a Hall-of-Fame-bound slugger who was then still an active player. At the press conference announcing his hiring, Frank expressed his regret that Jackie had not lived to see the moment. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, five teams had black or Hispanic managers, including Frank Robinson, now with the Washington Nationals, and 13 of the 30 teams had hired one at some point in their history.
Robinson's final few years were marked by tragedy. In 1971, his elder son, Jackie, Jr., was killed in an automobile accident. The diabetes that plagued him in middle age had left him virtually blind and contributed to severe heart troubles. Jackie Robinson died in Stamford, Connecticut on October 24, 1972 and was interred in the Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. For details, see Jules Tygiel's book, Baseball's Great Experiment.
In 1997 (the 50th anniversary of his major league debut), his number (42) was retired from all MLB teams. In 2004, Major League Baseball designated that April 15 each year would be marked as "Jackie Robinson Day" in all their ballparks.
Bronze replica of Jackie's Congressional Gold Medal On October 29, 2003, the United States Congress posthumously awarded Robinson the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award the Congress can bestow. Robinson's widow accepted the award in a ceremony in the Capital Rotunda on March 2, 2005. [edit] See also · Palwankar Baloo [edit] External links · Jackie's page at the National Baseball Hall of Fame · Jackie's Communiqués with the White House @ The National Archives · Robinson @ the Library of Congress · Jackie's page as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century · Jackie's page @ Baseball Library.com · Jackie's page @ Baseball Reference.com · Jackie's page @ Baseball Almanac.com Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson" Categories: 1919 births | 1972 deaths | 1949 National League All-Stars | 1950 National League All-Stars | 1951 National League All-Stars | 1952 National League All-Stars | 1953 National League All-Stars | 1954 National League All-Stars | African American athletes | African American baseball players | African American basketball players | American World War II veterans | Baseball Hall of Fame | Brooklyn Dodgers players | College basketball players | Congressional Gold Medal recipients | Major league second basemen | Negro League baseball players | People from Georgia (U.S. state) | Rookies of the Year | Methodists | Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients | Spingarn Medal winners | UCLA basketball | UCLA football Views · Article · Discussion · Edit this page · History Personal tools · Create account / log in
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