Robinson's older brother was a silver medalist at the Olympics. [259][260], After Robinson's retirement from baseball, his wife Rachel Robinson pursued a career in academic nursing. [62][63] Upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1943. "[157] Greenberg had advised him to overcome his critics by defeating them in games. [231] Later that year, after he complained of numerous physical ailments, he was diagnosed with diabetes, a disease that also afflicted his brothers. 4. [270] Twenty-five years after Robinson's death, the Interboro Parkway was renamed the Jackie Robinson Parkway in his memory. [316] 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. [15][16][17], The extended Robinson family established itself on a residential plot containing two small houses at 121 Pepper Street in Pasadena. While in Rehab he was involved in a car accident and died around the age of 25 in 1971. After his father abandoned the family in 1920, they moved. April 13, 2010. What's more, I say he can make us all rich. [24][38], After graduating from PJC in spring 1939,[39] Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. [249] After supporting Richard Nixon in his 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy, Robinson later praised Kennedy effusively for his stance on civil rights. This parkway bisects the cemetery in close proximity to Robinson's gravesite. On January 25, 1938, he was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. After Robinson left the army, Rickey, the then-GM of the Brooklyn Dodgers, saw Jackie play for the Kansas Monarchs. [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. [10][11][12] His middle name was in honor of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who died 25 days before Robinson was born. [30][31] In 1938, he was elected to the All-Southland Junior College Team for baseball and selected as the region's Most Valuable Player. [127] Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage,[23] and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. [204] During his career, the Dodgers played in six World Series, and Robinson himself played in six All-Star Games. [47] Baseball was Robinson's "worst sport" at UCLA; he hit .097 in his only season, although in his first game he went 4-for-4 and twice stole home. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. [274] On April 15, 2008, she announced that in 2010 the foundation would open a museum devoted to Jackie in Lower Manhattan. Jackie Robinson's Family. [65] 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. 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. Karl Downs to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College in Austin, then of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Jack Roosevelt (Jackie) Robinson Born 31 Jan 1919 in Cairo, Grady, Georgia, United States Ancestors Son of Jerry Robinson and Mallie (McGriff) Robinson Brother of Edgar Robinson, Frank Robinson, Matthew MacKenzie Robinson and Willa Mae (Robinson) Walker Husband of [private wife (1920s - unknown) ] [330] That same year, New York City renamed the Interboro Parkway in his honor. [195] Robinson, then 36 years old,[196] missed 49 games and did not play in Game 7 of the World Series. [152] Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons. [84] In all, Robinson played 47 games at shortstop for the Monarchs, hitting .387 with five home runs, and registering 13 stolen bases. 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. The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the military police, who took Robinson into custody. Jackie Robinson. [289][290], Major League Baseball has honored Robinson many times since his death. [43][44] They went undefeated with four ties at 604. [73], After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge in November 1944. [187] He finished the year with 104 runs, a .308 batting average, and 24 stolen bases. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. [4] Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.[5]. While Mr. Robinson patrolled second base, his wife, Rachel, was combing the Connecticut suburbs for a family home. [66], Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas; thus, he never saw combat action. [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. The Dodgers tried Robinson in the outfield and as a third baseman, both because of his diminishing abilities and because Gilliam was established at second base. After it was published, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. [87][88] The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. Early Life. Sources point to various reasons for Robinson's departure from UCLA. Along with the museum, scholarships will be awarded to "young people who live by and embody Jackie's ideals. [162][163] The following autumn, Robinson won his only championship when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series. [52][53][54], After the government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to Honolulu in the fall of 1941 to play football for the semi-professional, racially integrated Honolulu Bears. She became an assistant professor at the Yale School of Nursing and director of nursing at the Connecticut Mental Health Center. The celebration got off to an early start on Monday at Dodger Stadium. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded. [327][328] Robinson also has an asteroid named after him, 4319 Jackierobinson. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another. Died. O'Malley was quoted in the Montreal Standard as saying, "Jackie told me that he would be both delighted and honored to tackle this managerial post"although reports differed as to whether a position was ever formally offered. [192][193] Robinson also openly criticized segregated hotels and restaurants that served the Dodger organization; a number of these establishments integrated as a result, including the five-star Chase Park Hotel in St. [7] In 1999, he was posthumously named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. [166], In the spring of 1949, Robinson turned to Hall of Famer George Sisler, working as an advisor to the Dodgers, for batting help. He was survived by his wife Delano, their three sons and three daughters, a son and daughter from previous marriages, twenty-five grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. [159] His cumulative performance earned him the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National and American League Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949). [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. [162] The Dodgers improved on their performance from the year before, winning the National League pennant before losing the 1952 World Series to the New York Yankees in seven games. [128] Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example),[72] the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson. [276] His youngest son, David, who has ten children, is a coffee grower and social activist in Tanzania. Robinson Jr. eventually completed the treatment program at Daytop Village in Seymour, Connecticut, and became a counselor at the institution. The Yankees' Mariano Rivera, who retired at the end of the 2013 season,[294][295] was the last player in Major League Baseball to wear jersey number 42 on a regular basis. Robinson attended John Muir High School . [281] Also in 1999, he ranked number 44 on the Sporting News list of Baseball's 100 Greatest Players[282] and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top vote-getter among second basemen. [149][150] Rickey later recalled that Chapman "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. [197], In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs scored, a .275 batting average, and 12 steals. Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia, and went on to become the first black player in the modern era of Major League Baseball. - IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders Family (1) Spouse In an interview with Dave Roberts, manager of the L.A. Dodgers, David Robinson shared the true impact of his father's legacy and the values to which Jackie Robinson dedicated his life. [206] Robinson exhibited the combination of hitting ability and speed which exemplified the new era. [298], As an exception to the retired-number policy, MLB began honoring Robinson by allowing players to wear number 42 on April 15, Jackie Robinson Day, which is an annual observance that started in 2004. Source: Vimbuzz.com Related Posts What Were Jackie Robinson's Last Words? Complications from heart disease and diabetes weakened Robinson and made him almost blind by middle age. [75] Robinson took the former player's advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird. [93] Robinson made his debut in a Dodgers uniform wearing number 42 on April 11, 1947, in a preseason exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24,237 in attendance. The best was Josh Gibson. [313], Since 2004, the Aflac National High School Baseball Player of the Year has been presented the "Jackie Robinson Award". He come to beat ya. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [106], Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspapers and white major league players. [162] He did, however, record a career-high on-base percentage of .436. [64] 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. [211] After playing his rookie season at first base,[93] Robinson spent most of his career as a second baseman. [167] Robinson also noted that "Sisler showed me how to stop lunging, how to check my swing until the last fraction of a second". Also Known As. In the end, Montreal was the perfect place for him to get his start. It was a painful search, derailed by racist brokers and neighbors who were afraid that selling to an African-American family even to Mr. and Mrs. Jackie Robinson would cause lower property values, block busting, or worse. [66] Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers. [59], After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he joined the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion. [283] Baseball writer Bill James, in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, ranked Robinson as the 32nd greatest player of all time strictly on the basis of his performance on the field, noting that he was one of the top players in the league throughout his career. Mets owner Fred Wilpon announced that the Metsin conjunction with Citigroup and the Jackie Robinson Foundationwill created the Jackie Robinson Museum and Learning Center, located at the headquarters of the Jackie Robinson Foundation at One Hudson Square, along Canal Street in lower Manhattan. [55] Robinson then accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev. 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. Born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the youngest of Jerry and Mallie Robinson's five children. [59] After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and with the help of Truman Gibson (then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War),[60] the men were accepted into OCS. 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