Jackie Robinson
Breaking The Color Barrier
Jackie's Life
Jack Roosevelt Robinson born Jan. 31st, 1919 to Mallie and Jerry Robinson was the youngest of 6 children Edgar, Frank, Mack, Willa, and Mae. A year after he was born his dad left and they moved to Pasadena, California, his mom had to work several jobs to support their family. Jackie went to college at UCLA where he was a track all star, but struggled at baseball. He then went on to the military, after that he played in a couple negro leagues and eventually in 1947 he was picked up by the Brooklyn Dodgers.
During His Baseball Career
Jackie Robinson played in the MLB for nine years (1947-56). He was the second basemen for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His career stats were 1,518 hits, 137 home runs, 734 RBI's and a .311 batting average. He also won 2 pennants. Perhaps his most impressive stat was stealing home 19 times. In 1951 he was offered a coaching job for the Montreal Royals, which he declined and played one of his best years. In 1956 he retired to become an executive of the company Chock full o'Nuts.
Breaking The Color Barrier
As most of you may know when he entered the MLB he became the first African American to play professional baseball. This was not an easy task to fulfill as he suffered from many racial slurs and acts even from his teammates. Some of these included intentionally beaning him, throwing it at him on the base path, and cleating him as they slid into or passed by him. His coach once said to him "Jackie I like you because you have the guts not to fight back." This has all played an important part in Jackie's career and has been portrayed in many movies like 42 and the Jackie Robinson story. He even has a song about him "Watch Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball" by Woodrow Buddy Johnson. It's really amazing that despite all of the hardship he faced he was still able to become one of the most famous baseball players of all time.