America will never forget the name Jackie Robinson. The name itself reverberates all the way back to the 1940s and 50s, the years when segregation was prevalent throughout the country.
Jackie Robinson was able to tear down the color barrier that segregated America’s most beloved pastime — baseball.
Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, during the year 1919. His mother, Mallie raised him and his four siblings by herself in Pasadena, Calif. Growing up in a one-parent household, Robinson quickly learned how to take care of himself, and during his time at UCLA, he was the first athlete to win a varsity letter in track, basketball, football and baseball.
What most people don’t know about Robinson is he entered into the United States Army after graduating and moved himself up into the rank of second lieutenant. Two years into his Army career, he left with honorable discharge due to racial conflicts.
Robinson began playing baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945 in the Negro Baseball League. Two years later, the dynamics of baseball forever changed when the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, asked Robinson to play for his team.
This sort of move had been unheard of since 1889, when baseball had been strictly segregated. However, Robinson agreed and donned his No. 42 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey to play in his first Major League Baseball game on April 15, 1947. With this game, he broke the color barrier that was part of Major League Baseball for 58 years.
Jackie Robinson’s achievements did not stop there. In 1947, he was named the National League Rookie of the year and led the National League that year in stolen bases. From 1949-52, Robinson led the second base position for double plays. In 1949 he was selected as the National League MVP and also won the batting title with a .342. Robinson also played on the National League All-Star team from 1949-54.
Not only was Robinson able to accomplish all these things in seven years, but he also led the Dodgers to six World Series and to one World Championship. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
A quote from Robinson on the official Jackie Robinson website said, “The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball was even with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.”
Beyond the baseball field, Robinson still gave many contributions to society. He worked diligently toward a goal to improve African American life in the country. He served on the board of directors for the NAACP from 1957-67. For families barely getting by, Robinson also created the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to help build homes for those families.
Robinson wasn’t just a great baseball player, he was a crusader for racial equality throughout the entire country by breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball and continuing his work until he died in 1972.
A Robinson quote on the official website said, “Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.”
Jackie Robinson never wasted his life on the grandstand. Jackie Robinson lived.
