Who was the Jackie robinson
Early life
Born in Cairo, Georgia, in 1919, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the youngest of five children. He would confront a world of adversity at an early age. Shortly after his birth, Jackie's father, Jerry Robinson, left the family .The remaining Robinsons lived with racial discrimination on the Jim Sasser plantation. Jackie's mother, Mollie, needed to find a better life for her children. A sharecropper family minus the main breadwinner faced destitution. In 1920, she took Edgar, Frank, Mack, Jack, and Willa Mae to live with their uncle, Burton in Pasadena, California.
Uncle Burton's house was too small for the seven of them. Making minimal wages as a single mother, Mollie nevertheless socked away money for a four-bedroom house, with Burton's help. In spite of the restrictive neighborhood that barred blacks from Pepper Street in Pasadena, Mollie persuaded a light-skinned black man to act as if he were buying the house. When the Robinsons moved in, white residents became furious — and threatened to burn them out. However, that did little to scare Mollie out of pursuing her dreams.
As an adolescent, Jackie soon found friends, and became a member of the "Pepper Street Gang" — a group of mischievous blacks, Hispanics and Asians. The Reverend Karl Downs, the pastor at Pasadena's Scotts Methodist Church, saw that Jackie was headed for trouble. The Reverend Downs filled the empty, fatherless void in Jackie's life by influencing him ethically and religiously. As a friend and mentor, the minister formed a structure in Jackie, which would eventually see him through high school and into college.
Military life
On April 3, 1942, Jackie Robinson was inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II. While Jackie was in training, Rachel, to whom Jackie was engaged, was equally busy as a nursing student by day and a riveter by night at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
Robinson was accepted into officer candidate school. He graduated, earning his second lieutenant's bars on January 28, 1943, and was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas. After experiencing intense racial discrimination, he was transferred to Fort Hood, Texas, for further training. The intensity of discrimination was not any different in Texas.
A presidential executive order that desegregated the military in 1948, emboldened Robinson to disregard a military bus driver's orders to "go to the back of the bus." Consequently, Robinson was court-martialed for insubordination and didn't ship out to Europe with his unit. However, in 1944, Robinson was exonerated at a trial and received an honorable discharge.
Robinson was accepted into officer candidate school. He graduated, earning his second lieutenant's bars on January 28, 1943, and was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas. After experiencing intense racial discrimination, he was transferred to Fort Hood, Texas, for further training. The intensity of discrimination was not any different in Texas.
A presidential executive order that desegregated the military in 1948, emboldened Robinson to disregard a military bus driver's orders to "go to the back of the bus." Consequently, Robinson was court-martialed for insubordination and didn't ship out to Europe with his unit. However, in 1944, Robinson was exonerated at a trial and received an honorable discharge.
Major league baseball history
The baseball world that the young Jackie Robinson knew consisted of a whites-only system of the eight-team National and American leagues, as well as hundreds of Minor league teams.
Blacks played in the "Negro Leagues," which developed after 1900 as an alternative to the segregated white game.
Following the notorious Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis incorporated more of a power-hitting game, which became the dominant playing style, and ballparks became much larger. Ball clubs began to heavily scout promising talent, but black and white players met only in rare non-league games.
Blacks played in the "Negro Leagues," which developed after 1900 as an alternative to the segregated white game.
Following the notorious Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis incorporated more of a power-hitting game, which became the dominant playing style, and ballparks became much larger. Ball clubs began to heavily scout promising talent, but black and white players met only in rare non-league games.
Dodgers
Players and coaches, not only of the Dodgers, but throughout the all-white league, were outraged that Robinson was recruited.
Robinson's first season with the Dodgers was a living hell. A group of Dodger players, led by Dixie Walker, suggested they would strike rather than play alongside Robinson. But the team management told them that Jackie would play and that Dixie and his mates could leave if they wished.
Although he was a first baseman his entire rookie year, Robinson was most magical throughout his career at second. He also played many games at third base and in the outfield.
Upon entering the "white league," Robinson found comfort in befriending Pittsburgh Pirate Hank Greenberg, the first Major League Jewish baseball star, who also had experienced bigotry. Robinson belittled opposing players by employing an effective double-play combination with shortstop Pee Wee Reese.
Besides superb fielding skills, Robinson also was an exceptionally talented and disciplined hitter, with a career average of .311. Many players have referred to Jackie Robinson as the most aggressive, intelligent, and successful base runner of his era.
Robinson's first season with the Dodgers was a living hell. A group of Dodger players, led by Dixie Walker, suggested they would strike rather than play alongside Robinson. But the team management told them that Jackie would play and that Dixie and his mates could leave if they wished.
Although he was a first baseman his entire rookie year, Robinson was most magical throughout his career at second. He also played many games at third base and in the outfield.
Upon entering the "white league," Robinson found comfort in befriending Pittsburgh Pirate Hank Greenberg, the first Major League Jewish baseball star, who also had experienced bigotry. Robinson belittled opposing players by employing an effective double-play combination with shortstop Pee Wee Reese.
Besides superb fielding skills, Robinson also was an exceptionally talented and disciplined hitter, with a career average of .311. Many players have referred to Jackie Robinson as the most aggressive, intelligent, and successful base runner of his era.
Post mlb
On January 5, 1957, Robinson retired from the game he loved. With ambitions to either coach or manage in the Major leagues, he once again became a victim of discrimination. While either being ignored or turned down for such positions in baseball, Robinson settled for various business opportunities, and served as an executive on the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) until 1967.
Between 1960 and 1968, Jackie involved himself in various presidential elections, in which he publicly expressed his stand on civil rights.
Between 1960 and 1968, Jackie involved himself in various presidential elections, in which he publicly expressed his stand on civil rights.