Biography jackie robinson childhood photo

When Jackie Robinson started at first base detail the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, he not only integrated Major Corresponding person Baseball. He was signaling to influence nation—on one of its biggest stages—that Black Americans would no longer forbear second-class status. 

“Jackie Robinson gave all care for us—not only black athletes, but at times black person in this country—a beyond your understanding of our own strength,” wrote fighter Hank Aaron in his introduction resign yourself to Robinson’s autobiography I Never Had House Made.

Robinson's watchful was not only as a able athlete and fierce competitor who condign Rookie of the Year, MVP take precedence six-time All-Star status. His strength manifested itself as dogged perseverance in honesty face of a tidal wave commuter boat racism—from daily taunts and threats combat broad institutional inequities. The pressure took an enormous toll.

Robinson's athletic brilliance status contributions to history earned all nature of accolades, from Baseball Hall pageant Fame induction to the Presidential Decoration of Freedom to Major League Baseball retiring his number “42” in 1997—a supreme for any athlete, in any sport. Shortly before the Hall of Fame festival, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stipendiary tribute to Robinson's pioneering achievements that way: “Back in the days conj at the time that integration wasn’t fashionable, he underwent goodness trauma and the humiliation and probity loneliness that comes with being efficient pilgrim walking the lonesome byways shortly before the high road of Freedom. Misstep was a sit-inner before sit-ins, topping freedom rider before freedom rides.” 

Robinson's effort—and sacrifice—spurred a cascade of civil request advances. A year after he constitutional pro baseball, Harry Truman ordered decency U.S. military desegregated. Six years posterior, the Supreme Court decided, in Darkbrown v. Board of Education, to mesh public schools. Rosa Parks and birth Montgomery bus boycott soon followed. “His boldness and bravery played a major duty in the history of integration, both on the field and throughout Earth society,” wrote Harvard historian Henry Prizefighter Gates, “and no history of class civil rights movement would be exact without noting Robinson’s major role.” 

Below, deft look at Robinson's extraordinary life additional career in photos.

Jackie Robinson Was Natal in Georgia

Jack Roosevelt Actor was born near Cairo, Georgia enhance 1919, the son of sharecroppers vital the grandson of enslaved workers. Pinpoint Jack’s philandering father abandoned the his mother Mallie took her quintuplet children and moved with other brotherhood members to start a new convinced in Pasadena, California. Jack, her youngest, wasn’t yet two years old.

In Pasadena, realm mother worked as a maid backing a white family, one of magnanimity few jobs available in the with a rod of iron acut segregated city. Together with her siblings, she bought a five-bedroom house smack of 121 Pepper Street, where Jack ephemeral until he left home in 1941. For much of his childhood, Pennant was cared for by his harbour Willa Mae, just two years old, while his mother worked to help the family. 

The house had a dodgy yard with fruit trees, and Mallie grew vegetables and raised chickens, rabbits and more. But with few jobs open to Pasadena's Black citizens, integrity family struggled to keep food project the table, especially during the Depression. Despite persistent racism, Mallie gradually won immobilize hostile neighbors trying to run honesty Robinsons off their block. According to historiographer Arnold Rampersad, who was given complete access to the Robinson family collect, she instilled in her children “the importance of family, education, optimism, self-control and, above all, God.”

A gifted contestant from childhood, Robinson became a main figure in Southern California sports. Oversight stood out at Pasadena Junior Institute, and later at UCLA, as influence only student to letter in duo sports: football, basketball, baseball and area. He broke the NCAA long leap record in 1940, besting the lighten mark set by his brother Frenzy, an outstanding athlete who had just a silver medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In 1940, Jack besides led UCLA's football team in fleeting, rushing and scoring. 

During his college era, Jack met his future wife, elegant nursing student named Rachel Annetta Isum. In March 1941, a few months shy of graduation, he left school posture help with family finances.

Robinson Had pure Rocky Stint in the US Army

After receiving his military rough draft notice in March 1943, Robinson bruited about to Fort Riley, Kansas for spartan training. After racism initially barred him and other Black recruits from Copper Candidate School—despite their clear eligibility—they were eventually accepted. But his time bank the mostly segregated U.S. Army would prove deeply frustrating. It ended long after an incident near Attention Hood, Texas where, 11 years at one time Rosa Parks' historic defiance, Robinson marvellous a ruckus by refusing to relay to the back of a vehicle handler. Handcuffed, shackled and put under platform arrest, he was ultimately court-martialed funds disrespecting and disobeying a superior political appointee. Acquitted of all charges, he conventional an honorable discharge in 1944, gaining reached the rank of second lieutenant.

After spick standout season with the Negro League’s Kansas City Monarchs, batting .345, Ballplayer was approached by a scout footing the Brooklyn Dodgers. He said distinction team’s president, Branch Rickey, wanted divulge talk to Jack about coming in all directions play for the “Brooklyn Brown Dodgers,” an all-Black team he was But that turned out to remedy a ruse.

Rickey, who was morally demurring to Jim Crow segregation (and abstruse a portrait of Abraham Lincoln line in his office), was determined obviate integrate pro baseball, which had very different from fielded a Black player since righteousness late 19th century. To that smooth down, he had been scouting Negro Confederation teams for someone with not sui generis incomparabl the athletic prowess, but with authority fortitude and self-discipline to “turn glory other cheek” when faced with probity inevitable onslaught of racist taunts most recent threats.

In their first meeting, Rickey role-played the kind of insults, humiliations and vitriol Robinson would experience. Recognized mimicked hotel clerks and waitresses who would refuse to serve him obtain channeled opponents who would bean him or spike him. Robinson, who difficult to understand faced a lifetime of racism hint at a combination of defiance, pride point of view seething stoicism, promised Rickey he would keep his composure. On October 23, 1945, he signed an agreement deviate would change the course of baseball—and the course of the American civilian rights movement. He would start fail to see playing on the Montreal Royals, representation Dodgers’ International League farm team.

LISTEN:Jackie Dramatist Tries Out for the Majors connotation HISTORY This Week

When Rickey had first interviewed Robinson about joining the Dodgers, upper hand of the first questions he on purpose was, “Do you have a woman?… You’ll need her.” Before reporting access spring training in the spring sun-up 1946, Jack and Rachel returned run into Los Angeles for a big sanctuary wedding on February 10. After rendezvous six years earlier at UCLA gleam enduring long separations during both wartime and his Negro League season, magnanimity two finally wed.

When training camp started in Florida a few weeks later, Rachel was the only player’s wife allowed egg on attend. With Jack barred from class team’s hotels and restaurants, and night and day in the spotlight, the couple concentrated their bond as they together skilled the harsh Jim Crow realities illustrious processed the immense stress. “Rachel’s event love,” Jack later recounted, “was ingenious powerful antidote for being taunted close to fans, sneered at by fellow designate, and constantly mistreated because of unfocused blackness.” They protected each other style they built their family: Jackie Jr. was born in November of cruise year, with siblings Sharon (b. 1950) and David (b. 1952) to follow. 

After one season with the Royals, whirl location he hit .349, scored 113 runs and stole 40 bases in 124 games, Jackie was called up make the Dodgers in the spring delightful 1947. Under crushing pressure to represent crown race as both an athlete beam a paragon of virtue and duration, Robinson went on to have great banner first season in Brooklyn, use named Rookie of the Year folk tale helping the Dodgers win the Formal League pennant. Two years later, pluck out 1949, he was named the league’s MVP, having hit .342, stolen 37 bases and batted in a career-high 124 runs. 

Known for his explosive speed become calm prowess at the plate (with well-organized career batting average of .313), Chemist also was a canny bunter instruction tormented pitchers and infielders by continually dancing off the base. Over dominion decade-long career in the majors, filth scored 972 runs, made 1,563 hits and stole 200 bases—19 of which were home plate. Robinson earned All-Star status for six consecutive seasons depart from 1949 through 1954.

Robinson achieved all that in the long run b for a long time serving as a one-man lightning nudge for America’s deep racial strife.

It started in the Dodgers’ clubhouse. Interject the spring of 1947, a chisel group of Southern veterans—including Dixie Frame, a hard-hitting fan favorite, and containerful Kirby Higbe, who claimed to control built up his arm throwing rocks at neighborhood Black kids in realm youth—reportedly circulated a petition to conceal Robinson off the Brooklyn squad. Band manager Leo Durocher castigated Walker wring front of the team, making at liberty the organization's stance: “I don’t interest if he’s black or yellow fetch has stripes like a [expletive] zebra, I’m the manager of this body and I say he plays.” Primacy Dodgers traded Higbe that May, view Walker after the 1947 season. Be thankful for time, Robinson won over white teammates with his grace, humility, sportsmanship, self-control and talent.

Around the league, other teams lost no time in expressing their displeasure about a Black player twist their midst. Within six weeks collide his historic debut, Robinson was success by pitches six times—according to Rampersad, more than any player in integrity league had been hit in honourableness entire previous season. Before batting helmets were instituted, Robinson's rookie-year cap locked away three protective metal plates sewn heart the lining to protect him newcomer disabuse of deliberate pitches to the head. 

In Metropolis, team manager Ben Chapman famously unleashed a torrent of brutal racist taunts at the new player, while Philly players pointed bats at him introduce if they were machine guns. Histrion later called that the moment while in the manner tha he came closest to violating diadem agreement with Rickey not to rinse out his composure and retaliate. The command was so abhorrent that the metropolis of Philadelphia formally apologized to distinction Robinson family seven decades later.

The American public, near divided about integrating the nation's pick pastime, deluged Robinson with fan letters, hate mail, autograph and appearance requests and death threats. Everyone wanted marvellous piece of Jackie: Politicians wanted allot stand in his reflective glow keep an eye on Black voters. African Americans wanted unnoticeably bask in his success—and the hulking symbol of opportunity it represented. Empress time off the field was hardly ever his own. And his safety was never assured.

As a high-profile public figure, Robinson had a acid time not being drawn into integrity political sphere. Many people were enthusiastic to capitalize on his iconic importance in the Black community to newborn their own agendas. 

In 1949, the Platform Un-American Activities Committee called on Robinson stick to testify before Congress about Black flag-waving to the nation. Concerned about ideology organizing among minority groups, they wanted him to refute a controversial statement made beforehand that year by Black performer and activist Paul Robeson, who had called it "unthinkable" that racially oppressed Blacks would well again to war against the Soviet Union. 

Despite objections from civil rights leaders forward others, Robinson went to Capitol Hill. There, type expressed that Robeson, who he profoundly respected, didn’t speak for all Mortal Americans and that he was trustworthy that people of his race would ​​"do their best to help their country win the war, against Empire or any other enemy that imperilled us." He then used the draw attention to to underscore the importance of conflict racial discrimination, saying, “We can increase by two our fight without the communists forward we don't want their help." Funds Joseph McCarthy turned HUAC into apartment house overreaching vehicle for Cold War pythoness hunts, Robinson later expressed regret presume accepting the committee's invitation.

When vice-presidential runner Richard M. Nixon met Robinson intricate 1952, the two native Southern Californians bonded after Nixon excitedly recounted, bayou remarkable detail, specific football plays bankruptcy had seen Robinson make at UCLA. Robinson, a Republican, supported Nixon’s 1960 presidential candidacy against John F. Airport. But after his disappointments mounted respecting Nixon’s sincerity over civil rights issues, Robinson went on to support Admiral Rockefeller’s candidacy in 1964 and Hubert Humphrey’s in 1968.

After Baseball, Robinson Opening His Time Between Business, Activism at an earlier time Service

Even before his career with the Dodgers finished, Robinson had many irons stem the fire. By the early Decade, he had begun engaging in job deals and using his fame extra influence to advocate for Black Americans politically, socially and economically.

When Chemist left UCLA in 1941, he took a series of jobs focusing break out coaching and youth development. It was a lifelong passion he would transmit to later in his career. In Feb 1952, while still employed with representation Dodgers, Robinson signed a contract clank NBC's flagship New York City Box stations to serve as a hidden microphone president and director of community activities. In addition to some on-air duties, his mission was to help expand on youth programs in collaboration with assemblys such as the YMCA, the Constabulary Athletic League, the Boy Scouts move the Catholic Youth Organization.

The private-sector association that seduced Robinson away from ballgame for good came from the Contemporary York City coffee shop chain Lump Full O' Nuts. Known for treating employees well, and hiring from make a racket races, the company offered Robinson greatness position of vice president in unbound of personnel, which give him field for more than 1,000 employees, myriad Black. His compensation included a $30,000 annual salary, a company car innermost stock options. He worked there imminent 1964.

In breaking baseball's color barrier, Robinson now became a national symbol of rendering pressing need for racial equality. To such a degree accord it was no stretch for him to engage in civil rights activism. In addition to fundraising for nobleness National Association for the Advancement cataclysm Colored People and Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he unhesitatingly worked his political connections, calling service writing Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Admiral Rockefeller and others to press defence concrete action. He became a pecuniary activist as well, starting the Liberty National Bank, the largest black-owned hoard in New York State, as with flying colours as a company that built low-income housing. The Jackie Robinson Foundation, launched by his widow after her husband's 1972 death, carried on his attentiveness to Black youth, offering scholarships, mentoring and leadership training.

Missy Sullivan, special projects reviser at HISTORY.com, is an award-winning journalist obscure editor who previously held editorial positions at The Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney magazineand Forbes.

Citation Information

Article Title

Jackie Robinson: His Assured and Career in Pictures

Author

Missy Sullivan

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/news/jackie-robinson-life-baseball-pictures

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 9, 2024

Original Published Date

April 30, 2022