Jackie robinson death
Jackie Robinson
American baseball player (–)
For other people named Jackie Robinson, see Jackie Robinson (disambiguation).
Baseball player
| Jackie Robinson | |
|---|---|
Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers in | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born:()January 31, Cairo, Georgia, U.S. | |
| Died: October 24, () (aged&#;53) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| NgL: ,&#;for the&#;Kansas City Monarchs | |
| MLB: April 15,&#;,&#;for the&#;Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| October 10,&#;,&#;for the&#;Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Batting average | |
| Home runs | |
| Runs batted in | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference&#; | |
| |
| Induction | |
| Vote | % (first ballot) |
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, – October 24, ) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.
Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the s.
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson was raised in Pasadena, California.
A four-sport student athlete at Pasadena Junior College and the University of California, Los Angeles, he was better known for football than he was for baseball, becoming a star college player with the UCLA Bruins football team. Following his college career, Robinson was drafted for service during World War II but was court-martialed for refusing to sit at the back of a segregated Army bus, eventually being honorably discharged.
Afterwards, he signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues, where he caught the eye of Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who thought he would be the perfect candidate for breaking the color line in MLB.
During his year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in , was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from through , and won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award in —the first black player so honored.
Jacie robinson biography An active member of the NAACP, Robinson was often a featured speaker at civil rights rallies including the famed March on Washington in , and frequently participated in picket lines. Did you know? Bud Selig, Jr. Jackie was honorably discharged from the Army in November , and he took a job coaching basketball at a college in Austin , Texas.Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' World Series championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in in his first year of eligibility.
Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life.
He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts.
Jackie robinson biography african-american When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams. Army during World War II, but was court-martialed and honorably discharged for standing up for his rights and refusing to move to the back of a segregated military bus. Many players on opposing teams threatened not to play against the Dodgers. Jackie Robinson.In the s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in , Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field.
In , MLB retired his uniform number, 42, across all Major League teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, , on which every player on every team wears no.
Early life
Family and personal life
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, , into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia.
He was the youngest of five children born to Mallie (née McGriff) and Jerry Robinson, after siblings Edgar, Frank, Matthew (nicknamed "Mack"), and Willa Mae.[1][2] His middle name honored former President Theodore Roosevelt, who died 25 days before Robinson was born.[3] After Robinson's father left the family in , they moved to Pasadena, California.[4][5]
The extended Robinson family established itself on a residential plot containing two small houses at Pepper Street in Pasadena.
Robinson's mother worked various odd jobs to support the family.[6] Growing up in relative poverty in an otherwise affluent community, Robinson and his minority friends were excluded from many recreational opportunities.[7] As a result, Robinson joined a neighborhood gang, but his friend Carl Anderson persuaded him to abandon it.[7][8][9]
John Muir High School
In , Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir Technical High School.[10] Recognizing his athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers, Frank and Mack (himself an accomplished track and field athlete and silver medalist behind Jesse Owens in the meters at the Berlin Summer Olympics) inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in sports.[9][11][12]
At Muir Tech, Robinson played numerous sports at the varsity level and lettered in four of them: football, basketball, track and field, and baseball.[5] He played shortstop and catcher on the baseball team, quarterback on the football team, and guard on the basketball team.
With the track and field squad, he won awards in the broad jump. He was also a member of the tennis team.[13]
In , Robinson won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament and earned a place on the Pomona annual baseball tournament all-star team, which included future Hall of FamersTed Williams and Bob Lemon.[14] In late January , the Pasadena Star-News newspaper reported that Robinson "for two years has been the outstanding athlete at Muir, starring in football, basketball, track, baseball, and tennis."[15]
Pasadena Junior College
After Muir, Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career by participating in basketball, football, baseball, and track.[16] On the football team, he played quarterback and safety.
He was a shortstop and leadoff hitter for the baseball team,[5] and he broke an American junior college broad-jump record held by his brother Mack with a jump of 25&#;ft.
6+1&#;2 in. on May 7, [17] As at Muir High School, most of Jackie's teammates were white.[14] While playing football at PJC, Robinson suffered a fractured ankle, complications from which would eventually delay his deployment status while in the military.[18][19] In , he was elected to the All-Southland Junior College Team for baseball and selected as the region's Most Valuable Player.[11][20]
That year, Robinson was one of 10 students named to the school's Order of the Mast and Dagger (Omicron Mu Delta), awarded to students performing "outstanding service to the school and whose scholastic and citizenship record is worthy of recognition."[21] Also while at PJC, he was elected to the Lancers, a student-run police organization responsible for patrolling various school activities.[22]
An incident at PJC illustrated Robinson's impatience with authority figures he perceived as racist—a character trait that would resurface repeatedly in his life.
On January 25, , he was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police.[23] Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incident—along with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and police—gave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism.[24] While at PJC, he was motivated by a preacher (the Rev.
Karl Downs) to attend church on a regular basis, and Downs became a confidant for Robinson, a Christian.[25] Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's family.[11][26]
UCLA and afterward
After graduating from PJC in spring ,[27] Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.[28][29]
He was one of four black players on the Bruins' football team; the others were Woody Strode, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett.
Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the team's four backfield players.[30] At a time when only a few black students played mainstream college football, this made UCLA college football's most integrated team.[31][32] They went undefeated with four ties at 6–0–4.[33] Robinson finished the season with yards per attempt on 42 carries, which is the school football record for highest rushing yards per carry in a season as of Robinson also led the NCAA in punt return average in the and seasons.[34]
In track and field, Robinson won the NCAA championship in the long jump at 24&#;ft 10+1&#;4&#;in (&#;m).[35]Baseball was Robinson's "worst sport" at UCLA; he hit in his only season, although in his first game he went 4-for-4 and twice stole home.[36]
While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum (b), a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career at PJC.[37] He played football as a senior, but the Bruins won only one game.[38] In the spring, Robinson left college just shy of graduation, despite the reservations of his mother and Isum.[39] He took a job as an assistant athletic director with the government's National Youth Administration (NYA) in Atascadero, California.[40][41][42]
After the government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to Honolulu in the fall of to play football for the semi-professional, racially integrated Honolulu Bears.[40][42] After a short season, Robinson returned to California in December to pursue a career as running back for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League.[43] By that time, however, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place, which drew the United States into World War II and ended Robinson's nascent football career.[40]
Military career
Jackie Robinson | |
|---|---|
Robinson, wearing his Army uniform, receives a military salute from his nephew Frank during a visit to his home in Pasadena, California, c.&#; | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service / branch | United States Army |
| Years&#;of service | – |
| Rank | Second lieutenant |
| Unit | st Tank Battalion |
In , Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit at Fort Riley, Kansas.[44] Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located at Fort Riley.[44][45]
Although the Army's initial July guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race-neutral, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership.[46] The applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months.[47] 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),[48] the men were accepted into OCS.[40][47][49] The experience led to a personal friendship between Robinson and Louis.[50] Upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January [29] Shortly afterward, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged.[47]
After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he joined the st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion.
While at Fort Hood, Robinson often used his weekend leave to visit the Rev. Karl Downs, President of Sam Huston College (now Huston–Tillotson University) in nearby Austin, Texas; in California, Downs had been Robinson's pastor at Scott United Methodist Church while Robinson attended PJC.[23][51]
An event on July 6, , derailed Robinson's military career.[52] 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.[53][54][55] Robinson refused.
The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the military police, who took Robinson into custody.[53][56] When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed.[53][57]
After Robinson's commander in the st, Paul L.
Bates, refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to the th Battalion—where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink.[53][58]
By the time of the court-martial in August , the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning.[53] Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers.[53]
Although his former unit, the st 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, and he was never in combat.[59]
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 [60] 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.[61] Robinson took the former player's advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird.[62]
Post-military
After his discharge, Robinson briefly returned to his old football club, the Los Angeles Bulldogs.[43] Robinson then accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev.
Karl Downs to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College in Austin, then of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.[63] The job included coaching the school's basketball team for the –45 season.[51] 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.[63][64] Although his teams were outmatched by opponents, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian coach,[51] and drew the admiration of, among others, Langston University basketball player Marques Haynes, a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters.[65]
Playing career
Negro leagues and major league prospects
In early , while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the Kansas City Monarchs sent him a written offer to play professional baseball in the Negro leagues.[51][66] Robinson accepted a contract for $ per month.[40][67] Although he played well for the Monarchs, Robinson was frustrated with the experience.
He had grown used to a structured playing environment in college, and the Negro leagues' disorganization and embrace of gambling interests appalled him.[68][69] The hectic travel schedule also placed a burden on his relationship with Isum, with whom he could now communicate only by letter.[70] In all, Robinson played 47 games at shortstop for the Monarchs, hitting with five home runs, and registering 13 stolen bases.[71] He also appeared in the East–West All-Star Game, going hitless in five at-bats.[72]
During the season, Robinson pursued potential major league interests.
No black man had played in the major leagues since Moses Fleetwood Walker in , but the Boston Red Sox nevertheless held a tryout at Fenway Park for Robinson and other black players on April [73][74] The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H.
Y. Muchnick.[75] Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets.[76] He left the tryout humiliated,[73] and more than 14 years later, in July , the Red Sox became the final major league team to integrate its roster.[77]
Other teams, however, had more serious interest in signing a black ballplayer.
In the mids, 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. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players and interviewed him for possible assignment to Brooklyn's International Leaguefarm club, the Montreal Royals.[78] Rickey was especially interested in making sure his eventual signee could withstand the inevitable racial abuse that would be directed at him.[79][80] In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, , 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.[40] Robinson was aghast: "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?"[80][81] Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with guts enough not to fight back."[80][81] After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to racial antagonism, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $ a month, equal to $10, today.[82][83][84] Rickey did not offer compensation to the Monarchs, instead believing all Negro league players were free agents due to the contracts not containing a reserve clause.[85] Among those with whom Rickey discussed prospects was Wendell Smith, writer for the black weekly Pittsburgh Courier, who, according to Cleveland Indians owner and team president Bill Veeck, "influenced Rickey to take Jack Robinson, for which he's never completely gotten credit."[86]
Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, [87] On October 23, it was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Royals for the season.[40][83][88] On the same day, with representatives of the Royals and Dodgers present, Robinson formally signed his contract with the Royals.[89] In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment",[40][90] Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the s.[91][92] He was not necessarily the best player in the Negro leagues,[93] and black talents Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were upset when Robinson was selected first.[94]Larry Doby, who broke the color line in the American League the same year as Robinson, said, "One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jack was not the best player.
The best was Josh Gibson. I think that's one of the reasons why Josh died so early—he was heartbroken."[95]
Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave behind the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides, and he went home to Pasadena. That September, he signed with Chet Brewer's Kansas City Royals, a post-season barnstorming team in the California Winter League.[96][97] Later that off-season, he briefly toured South America with another barnstorming team, while his fiancée Isum pursued nursing opportunities in New York City.[98] On February 10, , Robinson and Isum were married by their old friend, the Rev.
Karl Downs.[40][99][]
Minor leagues
In , Robinson arrived at Daytona Beach, Florida, for spring training with the Montreal Royals of the Class AAAInternational League. Clay Hopper, the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodger affiliate, but Rickey refused.[]
Robinson's presence was controversial in racially segregated Florida.
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.[][][] Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility, scheduling was subject to the whim of area localities, several of which turned down any event involving Robinson or Johnny Wright, another black player whom Rickey had signed to the Dodgers' organization in January.
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.[][] In Jacksonville, the stadium was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director.[][] In DeLand, a scheduled day game was postponed, ostensibly because of issues with the stadium's electrical lighting.[][]
After much lobbying of local officials by Rickey himself, the Royals were allowed to host a game involving Robinson in Daytona Beach.[][] Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, , in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers.
Jackie robinson biography for kids Before he retired, he also became the highest-paid athlete in Dodgers history. In his decade-long career with the Dodgers, Robinson and his team won the National League pennant several times. Those players already wearing the number were allowed to keep it. In doing so, he struck a mighty blow for equality, freedom, and the American way of life.Robinson thus became the first black player to openly play for a minor league team against a major league team since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the s.[]
Later in spring training, after some less-than-stellar performances, Robinson was shifted from shortstop to second base, allowing him to make shorter throws to first base.[58] Robinson's performance soon rebounded.
On April 18, , 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.[] Pitching against Robinson was Warren Sandel who had played against him when they both lived in California.
During Robinson's first at bat, the Jersey City catcher, Dick Bouknight, demanded that Sandel throw at Robinson, but Sandel refused. Although Sandel induced Robinson to ground out at his first at bat, Robinson ended up with four hits in his five at bats; his first hit was a three-run home run in the game's third inning.[] He also scored four runs, drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory.[] Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a batting average and fielding percentage, and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player.[] Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example),[58] the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson.[][] Whether fans supported or opposed it, Robinson's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in , an astounding figure by International League standards.[1] In the fall of , following the baseball season, Robinson returned home to California and briefly played professional basketball for the short-lived Los Angeles Red Devils.[][]
Major leagues
Breaking the color barrier ()
In , the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues six days before the start of the season.
With Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson played his initial major league season as a first baseman.[80] Robinson made his debut as a Dodger wearing uniform number 42 on April 11, , in a preseason exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24, in attendance.[] On April 15, Robinson made his major league debut at the relatively advanced age of 28 at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26, spectators, more than 14, of whom were black.[] Although he failed to get a base hit, he walked and scored a run in the Dodgers' 5–3 victory.[] Robinson became the first player since to openly break the major league baseball color line.
Black fans began flocking to see the Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning their Negro league teams.[94]
Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspapers and white major league players.[1][] However, racial tension existed in the Dodger clubhouse.[] Some Dodger players insinuated they would sit out rather than play alongside Robinson.
The brewing mutiny ended when Dodgers management took a stand for Robinson. Manager Leo Durocher informed the team, "I do not care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin' zebra. I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What's more, I say he can make us all rich.
Jackie robinson biography jackie robinson timeline: You can opt out at any time. Robinson himself uses the film to open doors for African American actors, demanding that performers such as Bernie Hamilton, George Dockstader and Roy Glenn be written into the script. Quick Facts Childhood and Eduction U. Baseball Career Stats.
And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded."[]
Robinson was also derided by opposing teams.[] According to a press report, the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson played and spread the walkout across the entire National League.[] Existence of the plot was said to have been leaked by the Cardinals' team physician, Robert Hyland, to a friend, the New York Herald Tribune's Rud Rennie.
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.[][][] The Woodward article made national headlines. After it was published, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball CommissionerHappy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended.
"You will find that the friends that you think you have in the press box will not support you, that you will be outcasts," Frick was quoted as saying. "I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. All will be suspended and I don't care if it wrecks the National League for five years. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another."[][][][] Woodward's article received the E.
P. Dutton Award in for Best Sports Reporting.[] The Cardinals players denied that they were planning to strike, and Woodward later told author Roger Kahn that Frick was his true source; writer Warren Corbett said that Frick's speech "never happened".[] Regardless, the report led to Robinson receiving increased support from the sports media.
Even The Sporting News, a publication that had backed the color line, came out against the idea of a strike.[]
Robinson nonetheless became the target of rough physical play by opponents (particularly the Cardinals). At one time, he received a seven-inch gash in his leg from Enos Slaughter.[] On April 22, , 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".[] Rickey later recalled that Chapman "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers.
When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united thirty men."[]
However, Robinson received significant encouragement from several major league players. Robinson named Lee "Jeep" Handley, who played for the Phillies at the time, as the first opposing player to wish him well.[] Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons.
Color is not one of them."[] In or , Reese is said to have put his arm around Robinson in response to fans who shouted racial slurs at Robinson before a game in Boston or Cincinnati.[][] A statue by sculptor William Behrends, unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, , depicts Reese with his arm around Robinson.[]Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg, who had to deal with ethnic epithets during his career, also encouraged Robinson.
Following an incident where Greenberg collided with Robinson at first base, he "whispered a few words into Robinson's ear", which Robinson later characterized as "words of encouragement".[] Greenberg had advised him to overcome his critics by defeating them in games.[] Robinson also talked frequently with Larry Doby, who endured his own hardships since becoming the first black player in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, as the two spoke to each other via telephone throughout the season.[]
Robinson finished the season having played in games for the Dodgers, with a batting average of , an on-base percentage of , and a slugging percentage.
He had hits (scoring runs) including 31 doubles, 5 triples, and 12 home runs, driving in 48 runs for the year. Robinson led the league in sacrifice hits, with 28, and in stolen bases, with [] 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 ).[]
That year, the Brooklyn Dodgers won the National League pennant and went on to face the Yankees in the World Series.
Robinson became the first black player to play in the World Series. He appeared in all seven games, with the Dodgers ultimately losing in Game 7.[]
MVP, Congressional testimony, and film biography (–)
Further information: Paul Robeson Congressional hearings
Following Stanky's trade to the Boston Braves in March , Robinson took over second base, where he logged a fielding percentage that year (second in the National League at the position, fractionally behind Stanky).
Robinson had a batting average of and 22 stolen bases for the season.[] In a 12–7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 29, , he hit for the cycle—a home run, a triple, a double, and a single in the same game.[] The Dodgers briefly moved into first place in the National League in late August , but they ultimately finished third as the Braves went on to win the pennant and lose to the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.[]
Racial pressure on Robinson eased in when a number of other black players entered the major leagues.
Larry Doby (who broke the color barrier in the American League on July 5, , just 11 weeks after Robinson) and Satchel Paige played for the Cleveland Indians, and the Dodgers had three other black players besides Robinson. In February , he signed a $12, contract (equal to $, 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.
Between the tours, he underwent surgery on his right ankle. Because of his off-season activities, Robinson reported to training camp 30 pounds (14&#;kg) overweight.
He lost the weight during training camp, but dieting left him weak at the plate.[] In , Wendell Smith's book, Jackie Robinson: My Own Story, was released.[]
In the spring of , Robinson turned to Hall of Famer George Sisler, working as an advisor to the Dodgers, for batting help.
At Sisler's suggestion, Robinson spent hours at a batting tee, learning to hit the ball to right field. Sisler taught Robinson to anticipate a fastball, on the theory that it is easier to subsequently adjust to a slower curveball. Robinson also noted that "Sisler showed me how to stop lunging, how to check my swing until the last fraction of a second".
Jackie robinson biography Rickey knew there would be difficult times ahead for the young athlete, so he made Robinson promise to not fight back when confronted with racism. About Jackie Robinson. Appearing in six games, Robinson went 4-for with one double, one triple, one RBI, two walks and famously stole home base during game one of the series. The infielder made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, , and went on to have a decade-long Hall of Fame career despite repeated threats and abuse from fans and opponents.The tutelage helped Robinson raise his batting average from in to in [] In addition to his improved batting average, Robinson stole 37 bases that season, was second place in the league for both doubles and triples, and registered runs batted in with runs scored.[80] For the performance Robinson earned the Most Valuable Player Award for the National League.[80] Baseball fans also voted Robinson as the starting second baseman for the All-Star Game — the first All-Star Game to include black players.[][]
That year, a song about Robinson by Buddy Johnson, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?", reached number&#;13 on the charts; Count Basie recorded a famous version.[] Ultimately, the Dodgers won the National League pennant, but lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the World Series.[]
Summer brought an unwanted distraction for Robinson.
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. Robinson was reluctant to testify, but he eventually agreed to do so, fearing it might negatively affect his career if he declined.[]
In , Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman with [] His salary that year was the highest any Dodger had been paid to that point: $35, ($, in dollars).
He finished the year with 99 runs scored, a batting average, and 12 stolen bases.[] The year saw the release of a film biography of Robinson's life, The Jackie Robinson Story, in which Robinson played himself, and actress Ruby Dee played Rachel "Rae" (Isum) Robinson.[] The project had been previously delayed when the film's producers refused to accede to demands of two Hollywood studios that the movie include scenes of Robinson being tutored in baseball by a white man.[]The New York Times wrote that Robinson, "doing that rare thing of playing himself in the picture's leading role, displays a calm assurance and composure that might be envied by many a Hollywood star."[]
Robinson's Hollywood exploits, however, did not sit well with Dodgers co-owner Walter O'Malley, who referred to Robinson as "Rickey's prima donna".[] In late , Rickey's contract as the Dodgers' team President expired.
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.[] Rickey shortly thereafter became general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Robinson was disappointed at the turn of events and wrote a sympathetic letter to Rickey, whom he considered a father figure, stating, "Regardless of what happens to me in the future, it all can be placed on what you have done and, believe me, I appreciate it."[][][]
Pennant races and outside interests (–)
Before the season, O'Malley reportedly offered Robinson the job of manager of the Montreal Royals, effective at the end of Robinson's playing career.
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.[][]
During the season, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman for the second year in a row, with [] He also kept the Dodgers in contention for the pennant.
During the last game of the regular season, in the 13th inning, he had a hit to tie the game and then hit a home run in the 14th inning, which proved to be the winning margin. This forced a best-of-three playoff series against the crosstown rival New York Giants.[]
Despite Robinson's regular-season heroics, on October 3, , the Dodgers lost the pennant on Bobby Thomson's famous home run, known as the Shot Heard 'Round the World.
Overcoming his dejection, Robinson dutifully observed Thomson's feet to ensure he touched all the bases. Dodgers sportscaster Vin Scully later noted that the incident showed "how much of a competitor Robinson was."[] He finished the season with runs scored, a batting average of , and 25 stolen bases.[]
Robinson had what was an average year for him in [] He finished the year with runs, a batting average, and 24 stolen bases.
He did, however, record a career-high on-base percentage of [] The Dodgers improved on their performance from the year before, winning the National League pennant before losing the World Series to the New York Yankees in seven games.[] 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.[] Sportswriter Dick Young, whom Robinson had described as a "bigot", said, "If there was one flaw in Jackie, it was the common one.
He believed that everything unpleasant that happened to him happened because of his blackness."[] The season was the last year Robinson was an everyday starter at second base. Afterward, Robinson played variously at first, second, and third bases, shortstop, and in the outfield, with Jim Gilliam, another black player, taking over everyday second base duties.
Robinson's interests began to shift toward the prospect of managing a major league team. 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.[]
In , Robinson had runs, a batting average, and 17 steals, leading the Dodgers to another National League pennant (and another World Series loss to the Yankees, this time in six games).[] Robinson's continued success spawned a string of death threats.[] He was not dissuaded, however, from addressing racial issues publicly.
That year, he served as editor for Our Sports magazine, a periodical focusing on Negro sports issues; contributions to the magazine included an article on golf course segregation by Robinson's old friend Joe Louis.[][] 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.
Louis.[][]
World Championship and retirement (–)
In , Robinson had 62 runs scored, a batting average, and 7 steals. His best day at the plate was on June 17, when he hit two home runs and two doubles.[][] The following autumn, Robinson won his only championship when the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series.[] Although the team enjoyed ultimate success, was the worst year of Robinson's individual career.
He hit and stole only 12 bases. 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.[] Robinson, then 36 years old,[] missed 49 games and did not play in Game 7 of the World Series.[] He missed the game because manager Walter Alston decided to play Gilliam at second and Don Hoak at third base.
That season, the Dodgers' Don Newcombe became the first black major league pitcher to win twenty games in a year.[]
In , Robinson had 61 runs scored, a batting average, and 12 steals.[] By then, he had begun to exhibit the effects of diabetes and to lose interest in the prospect of playing or managing professional baseball.[] Robinson ended his major league career when he struck out to end Game 7 of the World Series.[] After the season, the Dodgers traded Robinson to the arch-rival New York Giants for Dick Littlefield and $35, cash (equal to $, today).
The trade, however, was never completed; unbeknownst to the Dodgers, Robinson had already agreed with the president of Chock full o'Nuts to quit baseball and become an executive with the company.[] Since Robinson had sold exclusive rights to any retirement story to Look magazine two years previously,[] his retirement decision was revealed through the magazine, instead of through the Dodgers organization.[]
Legacy
Further information: History of baseball in the United States §&#;Racial integration in baseball
Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the baseball color line.
After World War II, several other forces were also leading the country toward increased equality for blacks, including their accelerated migration to the North, where their political clout grew, and President Harry Truman's desegregation of the military in [] Robinson's breaking of the baseball color line and his professional success symbolized these broader changes and demonstrated that the fight for equality was more than simply a political matter.
Civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. said that he was "a legend and a symbol in his own time", and that he "challenged the dark skies of intolerance and frustration."[] According to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robinson's "efforts were a monumental step in the civil-rights revolution in America&#; [His] accomplishments allowed black and white Americans to be more respectful and open to one another and more appreciative of everyone's abilities."[]
Beginning his major league career at the relatively advanced age of 28, he played only ten seasons from to , all of them for the Brooklyn Dodgers.[] During his career, the Dodgers played in six World Series, and Robinson himself played in six All-Star Games.[] In , he was one of 30 players named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.[]
Robinson's career is generally considered to mark the beginning of the post–"long ball" era in baseball, in which a reliance on raw power-hitting gave way to balanced offensive strategies that used footspeed to create runs through aggressive baserunning.[] Robinson exhibited the combination of hitting ability and speed which exemplified the new era.
He scored more than runs in six of his ten seasons (averaging more than runs from to ), had a career batting average, a career on-base percentage, a slugging percentage, and substantially more walks than strikeouts ( to ).[][][] Robinson was one of only two players during the span of –56 to accumulate at least steals while registering a slugging percentage over (Minnie Miñoso was the other).[] He accumulated stolen bases in total, including 19 steals of home.[] None of the latter were double steals (in which a player stealing home is assisted by a player stealing another base at the same time).[] Robinson has been referred to by author David Falkner as "the father of modern base-stealing".[]
Historical statistical analysis indicates Robinson was an outstanding fielder throughout his ten years in the major leagues and at virtually every position he played.[] After playing his rookie season at first base,[80] Robinson spent most of his career as a second baseman.[] He led the league in fielding among second basemen in and [][] Toward the end of his career, he played about 2, innings at third base and about 1, innings in the outfield, excelling at both.[]
Assessing himself, Robinson said, "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me&#; all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."[] Regarding Robinson's qualities on the field, Leo Durocher said, "You want a guy that comes to play.
But he didn't just come to play. He came to beat you. He came to stuff the damn bat right up your ass."[1]
Portrayals on stage, film and television
Robinson portrayed himself in the motion picture The Jackie Robinson Story.[] Other portrayals include:
- John Lafayette, in the ABC television special "A Home Run for Love" (broadcast as an ABC Afterschool Special).[]
- David Alan Grier, in the Broadway production of the musicalThe First.[][][]
- Michael-David Gordon, in the Off-Broadway production of the musical Play to Win.[]
- Sterling Macer Jr.
in the Edward Schmidt play Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, a fictionalized version of the meeting in which Branch Rickey offered Robinson a major-league contract.[]
- Andre Braugher, in the TNT television movie The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson.[][]
- Blair Underwood, in the HBO television movie Soul of the Game.[][]
- Antonio Todd in "Colors", a episode of the CBS television series Cold Case.[]
- Chadwick Boseman, in the motion picture 42.[][]
- Robert Hamilton in "Sundown", a episode of the HBO television series Lovecraft Country.[]
Robinson was also the subject of a PBS documentary, Jackie Robinson, which was directed by Ken Burns and features Jamie Foxx doing voice-over as Robinson.[]
Post-baseball life
Robinson once told future Hall of Fame inductee Hank Aaron that "the game of baseball is great, but the greatest thing is what you do after your career is over."[] Robinson retired from baseball at age 37 on January 5, [] Later that year, after he complained of numerous physical ailments, he was diagnosed with diabetes, a disease that also afflicted his brothers.[] Although Robinson adopted an insulin injection regimen, the state of medicine at the time could not prevent the continued deterioration of Robinson's physical condition from the disease.[]
In October , Robinson entered the Greenville Municipal Airport's whites-only waiting room.
Airport police asked Robinson to leave, but he refused. At a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) speech in Greenville, South Carolina, Robinson urged "complete freedom" and encouraged black citizens to vote and to protest their second-class citizenship. The following January, approximately 1, people marched on New Year's Day to the airport,[][] which was desegregated shortly thereafter.[]
In his first year of eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame in ,[59] Robinson encouraged voters to consider only his on-field qualifications, rather than his cultural impact on the game.[] He was elected on the first ballot, becoming the first black player inducted into the Cooperstown museum.[1][]
In , Robinson served as an analyst for ABC's Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecasts, the first black person to do so.[] In , Robinson was hired as general manager for the short-lived Brooklyn Dodgers of the Continental Football League.[][] In , he served as a part-time commentator on Montreal Expos telecasts.[]
From to , Robinson was the vice president for personnel at Chock full o'Nuts; he was the first black person to serve as vice president of a major American corporation.[1][] Robinson always considered his business career as advancing the cause of black people in commerce and industry.[] He also chaired the NAACP's million-dollar Freedom Fund Drive in , and served on the organization's board until [] In , he helped found, with Harlem businessman Dunbar McLaurin, Freedom National Bank—a black-owned and operated commercial bank based in Harlem.[] He also served as the bank's first chairman of the board.[] In , Robinson established the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to build housing for low-income families.[][]
Robinson was active in politics throughout his post-baseball life.
He identified himself as a political independent,[][] although he held conservative opinions on several issues, including the Vietnam War (he once wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. to defend the Johnson Administration's military policy).[]