42

January 31 marks the 106th anniversary of the birth of Jack Roosevelt Robinson. Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia and raised in Pasadena, California. A major influence on young Jackie was his older brother Mack who became a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic track team despite struggling with a heart condition. Mack won a silver medal when he finished second to Jesse Owens in the 200-meter race. Sufficiently inspired, young Jackie set his sights set on competing in the 1940 games which unfortunately were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II.
Jackie enrolled at UCLA and became the first “Bruin” to letter in four sports. In addition to baseball and track, he starred in basketball and football. In both of his basketball seasons Jackie was the leading scorer in the Pacific Coast Conference. He led the UCLA football team in rushing yards and his career punt return average of 18.8 yards ranks fourth in NCAA history. In his spare time, Jackie won several amateur tennis titles.

Robinson’s first professional job was playing semi-pro football for the Honolulu Bears. His last game with the team was at Pearl Harbor on December 5, 1941, just two days before the Japanese attack. Soon after, Robinson was drafted into the Army where he became friends with fellow recruit, Joe Louis. The world famous boxer used his influence to help Jackie and several other black soldiers gain entrance into the Army Officer Candidate School after they had been denied admission because of their race. In 1944, Jackie was arrested and court martialed for refusing to sit in the back of a military bus. He was later acquitted on all charges and received an honorable discharge.

In 1945, Jackie played his first professional baseball game for the Negro League’s Kansas City Monarchs. The following year, Brooklyn Dodgers’ General Manager Branch Rickey selected Robinson to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. On April 15, 1947, after having finished one season with a Dodger’s farm team, the 28-year-old Robinson made his major league debut. Several teams canceled exhibition games in protest. A few Brooklyn Dodgers players launched a petition to keep Robinson off their team. The petitioners were stunned when star shortstop, Pee Wee Reese who grew up in segregated Louisville, Kentucky, not only refused to sign but also took Jackie under his wing. During an early season game Reese put his arm around Robinson, as a signal to white players and fans to accept his barrier-breaking teammate.

Robinson was voted the National League’s Rookie of the Year and two seasons later was voted the league’s MVP. During his ten year career Robinson compiled an impressive 311 batting average. More importantly, Jackie paved the way for other Black players as 150 Blacks entered the majors during the next five years. Astoundingly, eleven of the fourteen National League MVPs from 1949 through 1962 were Black.

In 1962, Robinson became the first Black player inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. That was only one of Robinson’s many firsts. He became the first black vice president of a major American corporation (Chock Full o’ Nuts). In 1964, Robinson helped found Harlem’s Freedom National Bank, an institution that was established because of the financial industry’s discrimination against African Americans. In 1965 he joined ABC-TV Sports as baseball’s first Black announcer.
Jackie Robinson died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 53. Pallbearers at his funeral included Pee Wee Reese, other Dodger teammates, and basketball legend Bill Russell.

Robinson’s number, 42, was retired by Major League Baseball on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of his breaking the league’s color barrier. Later, UCLA announced that number 42 would be retired across all sports. Every April 15 all major league baseball players wear number 42.

It would be impossible to go overboard in honoring Jackie Roosevelt Robinson (BTW, his middle name was in honor of another great American, Teddy Roosevelt). He first set the example of how a Black athlete should carry himself and eventually became an example for all Americans.

Have a great weekend. BTW, If you haven’t seen the movie “42” you should check it out on Amazon.