Jackie Robinson struggled more than you might have thought. The first person of color to ever play professional baseball had to overcome poverty, familial strife, and even a lawsuit with the U.S. Army...
The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Jackie Robinson had an incredibly rough life before he got paid to put on cleats and run around a diamond every day. Despite the love and admiration he received when he became a baseball legend, he had to break the color barrier in many other aspects of his life as well.
Just a Boy
Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of his five brothers and sisters. His parents were sharecroppers that didn’t have much money since they were just recently emancipated. His family moved to Pasadena, California in 1920, and Jackie was forced to take drastic measures to make sure his family could stay afloat financially…
Hard Decisions
Jackie joined a street gang when he was only 13 years old. He had few options, and his family was struggling to make ends meet. Jackie’s older brother, Mack Robinson, worked twice as hard to support his family to make sure that Jackie didn’t go down the wrong path.
Picking it Up
Mack made sure that Jackie never left school early to hang out with his fellow street gang members. He got Jackie to join the basketball, football, track, and baseball teams. From there, Jackie dropped out of the street gang lifestyle and started pursuing sports full-time. He even played a sport outside of school, which he almost pursued instead of baseball…
A Tennis Player?
Jackie was a star tennis player in his youth. Due to his athleticism in school, he was picked up by an intramural team even though he never played tennis before. As soon as he learned the rules, Jackie excelled. Only one year into playing tennis, Jackie won the 1936 Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament at only 17 years old.
Multifaceted Athlete
Jackie took his early career in athletics very seriously. His family was all athletic, but he and his brother Mack both had an extremely high aptitude for sports. Mack went to the Olympics for track and field right when he graduated high school. Jackie finished high school and immediately got drafted onto the UCLA track team. He walked onto the basketball, football, and baseball teams as well. Jackie never finished college, because of an offer he got from a professional football team, but unfortunately, that offer was short-lived…
One for the Books
In 1942, Jackie was drafted into the U.S. Army right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jackie was ranked highly after going through bootcamp, and he took his training very seriously. He was even recognized by some of the drill sergeants as the collegiate athlete that set the UCLA long jump record.
Still Having Trouble
Jackie was praised by a fair deal of his superiors, but racism was still an enormous issue in the military at the time. These problems weren’t being addressed because the U.S. Army claimed that they had larger issues at the time (like WWII), but these problems inevitably came to a head one day when Jackie got on an army-owned non-segregated bus…
No, I Won't
The driver tried to force Jackie to get to the back of the bus, like it was a segregated ride. Jackie refused to give up his seat, which led to his arrest by the military police. This led to Jackie having to face a court-martial to atone for his “wrongdoing.”
Going Home
The military police inflated the charges that were being pressed against Jackie, and he was found guilty by an all-white jury. Jackie was released from the military in 1944 with an honorable discharge. He never saw combat, and this proved to be an incredible blessing for the 25-year-old man…
Athletic Director
As soon as Jackie was released from the military, he was offered a job as the athletic director at Sam Huston College in Austin, Texas. He was also offered a pinch-hitter position in the Negro Baseball League, which he accepted.
An Underfunded League
Unfortunately for Jackie, this league of players was incredibly disorganized and it lacked the funding to accommodate its players properly. Jackie was an outlier on his team. He was truly a gifted baseball player, he knew it, and everyone around him knew it too. Jackie wanted more out of his career, but he didn’t know how to get it…
Welcome Home
On November 1st, 1945, the Brooklyn Dodgers decided to offer Jackie a position on their international team. This team was called the Montreal Royals. Jackie was the first person of color to ever be invited to play on a team with white people. While this was an enormous step for the inclusion of people of color in professional sports, the battle was far from over.
The Learning Curve
Jackie was met with immediate hostility by his teammates and the fans of the Royals. Some teams even refused to allow Jackie into their stadium. However, by the end of the season, the racism that Jackie faced on his home turf stopped...
On the Horizon
Jackie was an absolute rockstar on the field. By the end of his first season on the Royals, he was awarded the International League’s MVP award, and he was invited back for another season with the team. But, the Brooklyn Dodgers had something else in mind for him.
Good Things on the Rise
Jackie was offered a spot as a pinch hitter on the actual Brooklyn Dodgers team. He was the first person of color to ever play on an international team, and he became the first person of color to ever play a professional sport with an elite American team. Threats and racism from fans and players continued coming at Jackie, but he just responded with his bat…
Unbelievable Player
Despite the discomfort and lack of acceptance that Jackie was experiencing, that didn’t stop him from becoming the best batter and base runner in the American League, and possibly the world. As Jackie got better and better, he became more accepted by the public. Before he knew it, Jackie’s face was being printed on baseball cards, cereal boxes, and t-shirts.
A Man of the People
Jackie was an inspiration for children of color all over the world. The overwhelming support from all of those children and their parents gave Jackie the strength to completely block out negativity and focus on being the best baseball player he could possibly be…
The Champion
Jackie led the Brooklyn Dodgers to 6 World Series during the years he played for the team. It wasn’t until 1955, Jackie’s last appearance in a World Series, that the Brooklyn Dodgers won. Oddly enough, this was statistically Jackie’s worst season of his entire career.
Vice President
Jackie retired after his 1956 season. His contract had ended with the Dodgers and he was offered a position on the New York Giants, to which he refused. The now 37-year-old Jackie Robinson decided to pursue other ventures, and he was offered a position as the vice president of Chock Full O’Nuts, the most successful commercial coffee company on the market at the time. Jackie Robinson became the first black vice president of any corporation, and he didn’t stop there either…
The Hall of Fame
In 1962, Jackie got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He urged voters to consider his level of play over his cultural impact, but in the end, his level of play was the reason he got there in the first place. This award led Jackie to many more opportunities to stay in the baseball world…
On TV
Jackie became the first black analyst for ABC’s Major League Baseball Game of the Week talk show in 1965. He also briefly worked as a game commentator for the Montreal Expos, but he found his strength was in analytics, not fast and loose commentary.
Community Minded
Jackie was also incredibly active in the efforts against racism in the real world. Off-screen, Jackie served as a board member for the NAACP, and he helped open the Freedom National Bank in Harlem in 1964. He even founded his own construction company to build quality low-income housing for struggling folks in New York City.
Gone Too Soon
Unfortunately, due to health complications, Jackie died at the age of 53. Jackie was an untreated type 2 diabetic, and this led to him getting heart disease and nearly going blind. He was buried in the Brooklyn Graveyard, just south of Ridgewood.
Jackie Robinson Day
Immediately after his death, the number 42 jersey was retired. Every year on April 15th, the entire MLB recognizes Jackie Robinson Day, as a testament of appreciation for this cultural and sports hero.
LeBron James
Because of Jackie’s impact, other athletes credit him for their philanthropic endeavors. For instance, Lebron James said that Jackie Robinson inspired him to start his own charity. He donates a fair deal of his earnings to his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams created her own foundation to give young children from low-income environments grants and scholarships to go to college. She is also working with and funding overseas foundations that build schools in underprivileged places like Jamaica and Kenya.
Russell Williams
Russell Wilson holds several charity events a year to help fund schools in Seattle. He also has his own foundation that raises money to help children from poor backgrounds pay for their and their family’s medical bills.
Doing it for the Kids
Wilson even spends significant amounts of time in hospitals visiting the kids that he helps out. The majority of them are cancer patients, and he regularly accompanies them to their chemotherapy appointments. He has saved dozens of lives and the number keeps growing.
And His Name is...
Even John Cena credits Jackie Robinson as his largest inspiration for his philanthropic endeavors. John Cena has granted the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He has granted over 500 wishes, and the number keeps rising. He is also outspoken and active in fighting against bullying and funding cancer research.
R.I.P. to a Legend
Jackie Robinson was one of the most important athletes that ever lived. His impact carries over even into today’s day and age, with modern athletes crediting him for his charitable nature and unwavering resolve. He is truly one of the most impressive people to ever walk the Earth.