[59] As it was a fledgling program, few students tried out for the basketball team, and Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into the lineup for exhibition games. Muchnick. After his death, his wife established the ‘Jackie Robinson Foundation’ in 1973 with the aim of providing scholarships for higher education to minority youths. It was common for a team to retire the number of a player from that team, but for a number to be retired for all the professional teams within a sport was unprecedented. He achieved the status of four-letterman while attending John Muir Technical High School. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. [184] He was not dissuaded, however, from addressing racial issues publicly. Larry Doby (who broke the color barrier in the American League on July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Robinson) and Satchel Paige played for the Cleveland Indians, and the Dodgers had three other black players besides Robinson. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. He was sent to ‘John Muir High School’ where his athletic talents were discovered. On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the Jersey City Giants' season opener against the Montreal Royals, marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the first time the color barrier had been broken in a game between two minor league clubs. He come to beat ya. [8][88] In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945,[89] Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrily—a concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military. He had his own men's apparel store from 1952-1958 on Harlem's 125th street. [60] While awaiting results of hospital tests on the ankle he had injured in junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus. [231][232] In 1972, he served as a part-time commentator on Montreal Expos telecasts. Robinson Jr. eventually completed the treatment program at Daytop Village in Seymour, Connecticut, and became a counselor at the institution. [317] The house, at 8232 avenue de Gaspé near Jarry Park, was Robinson's residence when he played for the Montreal Royals during 1946. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Jackie Robinson instructing his son's Little League team, 1957. [286] The gesture was originally the idea of outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., who sought Rachel Robinson's permission to wear the number. [74], In early 1945, while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the Kansas City Monarchs sent him a written offer to play professional baseball in the Negro leagues. [61] Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers. He won the NCAACP's famous award, the Spingarn Medal. Jackie Robinson was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and his accomplishments led to increased equality for the blacks. That season, the Dodgers' Don Newcombe became the first black major league pitcher to win twenty games in a year. [269] Also in 1999, he ranked number 44 on the Sporting News list of Baseball's 100 Greatest Players[270] and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top vote-getter among second basemen. "[26], After Muir, Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career by participating in basketball, football, baseball, and track. [72] The job included coaching the school's basketball team for the 1944–45 season. He had grown used to a structured playing environment in college, and the Negro leagues' disorganization and embrace of gambling interests appalled him. However, he never saw combat. Signed a contract with WNBC and WNBT to serve as Director of Community Activities in 1952. Robinson was a vocal champion for African American athletes, civil rights and other social and political causes, serving on the board of the NAACP until 1967. He overcame numerous obstacles in his 10 year career to become one of baseball’s most exciting and dazzling players. [61][62][63] Robinson refused. In April 1997, his jersey number 42 was retired in his honor. [155] He did, however, record a career-high on-base percentage of .436. That year, on the television show Youth Wants to Know, Robinson challenged the Yankees' general manager, George Weiss, on the racial record of his team, which had yet to sign a black player. From 1942 to 1944, Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. In 1978, a 10 square-block park in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City was christened Jackie Robinson Park to honor the baseball player. [156] He also kept the Dodgers in contention for the 1951 pennant. "[247][248] This wish was only fulfilled after Robinson's death: following the 1974 season, the Cleveland Indians gave their managerial post to Frank Robinson (no relation to Jackie), a Hall of Fame-bound player who would go on to manage three other teams. [126][131] However, racial tension existed in the Dodger clubhouse. I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me ... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being. © 2020 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Robinson led the league in sacrifice hits, with 28, and in stolen bases, with 29. In 1962, Robinson was the first African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. We strive for accuracy and fairness. He was not allowed to stay with his white teammates at the team hotel, and instead lodged at the home of Joe and Dufferin Harris, a politically active African American couple who introduced the Robinsons to civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. Rachel said that she and Jackie went to great lengths to create a nurturing home that sheltered their kids from racism. He was born on January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia (Wikipedia.org). He broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. [235] Switching his allegiance to the Democrats, he subsequently supported Hubert Humphrey against Nixon in 1968. [310] In 1976, his home in Brooklyn, the Jackie Robinson House, was declared a National Historic Landmark. Starred in “The Jackie Robinson Story” in 1950. He retired on January 5, 1957. [262], After Robinson's death, his widow founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and she remains an officer as of 2020. [316], In 2011, the U.S. placed a plaque at Robinson's Montreal home to honor the ending of segregation in baseball. Led second basemen in double plays 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952. [302] On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, announced that Robinson was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento. He was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame on June 10, 1984. [82][83] The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. He gratefully accepted a plaque honoring the twenty-fifth anniversary of his MLB debut, but also commented, "I'm going to be tremendously more pleased and more proud when I look at that third base coaching line one day and see a black face managing in baseball. After failing before in four other series matchups, the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees. The reporter, concerned about protecting Hyland's anonymity and job, in turn leaked it to his Tribune colleague and editor, Stanley Woodward, whose own subsequent reporting with other sources protected Hyland. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded. At the time, the sport was segregated, and African Americans and white people played in separate leagues. Robinson later moved to Florida to begin spring training with the Royals. [107], Robinson's presence was controversial in racially charged Florida. Throughout his decade-long career, Robinson distinguished himself as one of the game's most talented and exciting players, recording an impressive .311 career batting average. Branch Rickey was a baseball executive known for his groundbreaking 1945 decision to bring Jackie Robinson into the major leagues, thereby breaking the color barrier. "[145], Robinson did, however, receive significant encouragement from several major league players. [193], Robinson protested against the major leagues' ongoing lack of minority managers and central office personnel, and he turned down an invitation to appear in an old-timers' game at Yankee Stadium in 1969.