[204] During his career, the Dodgers played in six World Series, and Robinson himself played in six All-Star Games. [6][7] Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship. [148] On April 22, 1947, during a game between the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies players and manager Ben Chapman called Robinson a "nigger" from their dugout and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields". How these 3 hashtags from Black . [198] After the season, the Dodgers traded Robinson to the arch-rival New York Giants for Dick Littlefield and $35,000 cash (equal to $348,843 today). 42 as part of Jackie Robinson Day tribute", "MLB players to wear #42 Monday to honor Jackie Robinson Day", "Jackie Robinson Rotunda dedicated at Citi Field", "Jackie Robinson Museum opens in Manhattan", "Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation extends partnership with The Jackie Robinson Foundation through $800,000 grant for college scholarships", "Jackie Robinson statue unveiled at Dodger Stadium", "The 2010 Aflac National High School Player of The Year Nominees Announced", Baseball awards#U.S. [331] A statue of Robinson at Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, was dedicated in 1998. [161] In February 1948, he signed a $12,500 contract (equal to $140,980 today) with the Dodgers; while a significant amount, this was less than Robinson made in the off-season from a vaudeville tour, where he answered pre-set baseball questions and a speaking tour of the South. In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began to scout the Negro leagues for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. [197], In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs scored, a .275 batting average, and 12 steals. [241], On June 4, 1972, the Dodgers retired his uniform number, 42, alongside those of Roy Campanella (39) and Sandy Koufax (32). [56][57] Although the Army's initial July 1941 guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race neutral, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership. 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. [188] Sportswriter Dick Young, whom Robinson had described as a "bigot", said, "If there was one flaw in Jackie, it was the common one. [9][93] In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945,[94] Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrilya concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military. [48], While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum (b.1922), a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career at PJC. [149][150] Rickey later recalled that Chapman "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. [2] Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. [252] He later became special assistant for community affairs when Rockefeller was re-elected governor of New York in 1966 and in 1971 was appointed to the New York State Athletic Commission by Rockefeller. [74] While there, Robinson met a former player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, who encouraged Robinson to write the Monarchs and ask for a tryout. Dodgers sportscaster Vin Scully later noted that the incident showed "how much of a competitor Robinson was. He had hoped to gain experience by managing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but according to the New York Post, Commissioner Happy Chandler denied the request. [112], Robinson's presence was controversial in racially segregated Florida. His father left the family a year later. Robinson died at age 85 at a hospital in Pasadena on March 12, 2000. [104] He was not necessarily the best player in the Negro leagues,[105] and black talents Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were upset when Robinson was selected first. 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. Born on January 31 51 Deceased on October 24 41 Baseball 44 Family tree Report an error Robinson Willis 1842 - 1870 Robinson Violet 1840 - Love Henry 1848 - Henderson Clara 1845 - 1920 McGriff Jacob 1805 - McGriff Rutha 1810 - Sims Henry 1845 - 1921 Pullens Lucy 1834 - 1904 Robinson Tony 1862 - 1932 Henderson Florence 1864 - 1951 McGriff Washington After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field. He had 175 hits (scoring 125 runs) including 31 doubles, 5 triples, and 12 home runs, driving in 48 runs for the year. Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972) was the first African-American Major League Baseball (MLB) player of modern times. "[151], However, Robinson received significant encouragement from several major league players. In high. Because of his off-season activities, Robinson reported to training camp 30 pounds (14kg) overweight. [161] Robinson had a batting average of .296 and 22 stolen bases for the season. In July, he was called to testify before the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) concerning statements made that April by black athlete and actor Paul Robeson. [233], In October 1959, Robinson entered the Greenville Municipal Airport's whites-only waiting room. [314], Robinson has also been recognized outside of baseball. The best was Josh Gibson. [100] On October 23, it was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Royals for the 1946 season. [291][292] On April 15, 1997, Robinson's jersey number, 42, was retired throughout Major League Baseball, the first time any jersey number had been retired throughout one of the four major American sports leagues. Robinson's older brother was a silver medalist at the Olympics. [56] Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located at Fort Riley. [200], 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. From gang member to world-famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson helped break down barriers for African American athletes, proving that they can not only compete, but excel, in a variety of sports. [164], Racial pressure on Robinson eased in 1948 when a number of other black players entered the major leagues. [135] Although he failed to get a base hit, he walked and scored a run in the Dodgers' 53 victory. [243][253] In 1968 he broke with the Republican party and supported Hubert Humphrey against Nixon in that year's presidential election. on May 7, 1938. Jackie Robinson married Rachel Isum in 1946. [50] In the spring, Robinson left college just shy of graduation, despite the reservations of his mother and Isum. Weary of constant disagreements with O'Malley, and with no hope of being re-appointed as President of the Dodgers, Rickey cashed out his one-quarter financial interest in the team, leaving O'Malley in full control of the franchise. [49] He played football as a senior, but the 1940 Bruins won only one game. "[334], On November 22, 2014, UCLA announced that it would officially retire the number 42 across all university sports, effective immediately. After his father abandoned the family in 1920, they moved. "[230] Robinson retired from baseball at age 37 on January 5, 1957. [125] Pitching against Robinson was Warren Sandel who had played against him when they both lived in California. "[180][181][182], Before the 1951 season, O'Malley reportedly offered Robinson the job of manager of the Montreal Royals, effective at the end of Robinson's playing career. Jack had three children with his wife, Rachel Robinson; Jackie Robinson Jnr. [243] In 1964, he helped found, with Harlem businessman Dunbar McLaurin, Freedom National Banka black-owned and operated commercial bank based in Harlem. Jackie Jr. (born in 1946) fought in the army, but got into drugs when he returned. For a general survey of the media reaction to Robinson at various phases of his career, In addition to Robinson, the 1949 All-Star game featured, Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award, History of baseball in the United States Racial integration in baseball, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 100 most influential people of the 20th century, The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts, List of first black Major League Baseball players, List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders, List of Major League Baseball batting champions, List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders, List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise, List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle, List of Major League Baseball retired numbers, List of NCAA major college football yearly rushing leaders, List of NCAA major college yearly punt and kickoff return leaders, List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball, List of University of California, Los Angeles people, Los Angeles Dodgers award winners and league leaders, "Boston Braves at Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score, April 15, 1947", "Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson: precursors of the civil rights movement", "In Pharaoh's Land: Cairo, Georgia 19191920", "White House dream team: Jackie Roosevelt Robinson", "Robinson a Baseball Star? "[93][95] Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with guts enough not to fight back. [135] Robinson became the first player since 1884 to openly break the major league baseball color line. At Sisler's suggestion, Robinson spent hours at a batting tee, learning to hit the ball to right field. [87][88] 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. [170] Ultimately, the Dodgers won the National League pennant, but lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the 1949 World Series. Robinson portrayed himself in the 1950 motion picture The Jackie Robinson Story. "[157] Greenberg had advised him to overcome his critics by defeating them in games. 42 in honor of the player who broke baseball's color barrier . [158], Robinson finished the season having played in 151 games for the Dodgers, with a batting average of .297, an on-base percentage of .383, and a .427 slugging percentage. [106], Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspapers and white major league players. [266] On June 17, 1971, he was killed in an automobile accident at age 24. [37] Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. Died. [200], Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the baseball color line. In 1987, both the National and American League Rookie of the Year Awards were renamed the "Jackie Robinson Award" in honor of the first recipient (Robinson's Major League Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 encompassed both leagues). Jackie was the youngest of five children, four boys and a girl, born to impoverished sharecroppers Jerry and Mallie Robinson. "[139], Robinson was also derided by opposing teams. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players and interviewed him for possible assignment to Brooklyn's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals. NEW YORK (AP) New York City's Department of Transportation swung and missed with a road sign for the Jackie Robinson Parkway that spelled the baseball Hall of Famer's first name as "Jakie.". He hit .256 and stole only 12 bases. In Sanford, Florida, the police chief threatened to cancel games if Robinson and Wright did not cease training activities there; as a result, Robinson was sent back to Daytona Beach. [132][133], In 1947, the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues six days before the start of the season. The school also announced it would prominently display the number at all of its athletic venues. Sources point to various reasons for Robinson's departure from UCLA. Although the team enjoyed ultimate success, 1955 was the worst year of Robinson's individual career. [165] In 1948, Wendell Smith's book, Jackie Robinson: My Own Story, was released. [52][54] After a short season, Robinson returned to California in December 1941 to pursue a career as running back for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League. [66] Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers. Along with the museum, scholarships will be awarded to "young people who live by and embody Jackie's ideals. [19][20][21], In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir High School (Muir Tech). 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