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Jackie Robinson: Baseballs
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Jackie Robinson was the first African American ball player in the modern major leagues to establish a wide reputation in baseball, basketball, football, and track. In 1941, he entered the Army in World War II and was discharged as a lieutenant in 1945. Also, in 1945, Robinson signed to play for the Montreal Royals where he excelled as a second baseman and won the league batting crown. In 1949, he was named the NL's Most Valuable Player. In 1962, Robinson became the first African American to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame.
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Jackie Robinson was one of the great all-round athletes of the century. At UCLA he was the first person to win varsity letters in four sports - football, basketball, baseball, and track. He was named to the All-American football team in 1941. After rising to second lieutenant in the US Army during World War Two, he joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. Actually, baseball was not Robinson's best sport, but there were few other opportunities for an African American athlete.
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Jackie Robinson proved himself a hero by being the first African American in Major League Baseball and by leading other African Americans to the Major Leagues. Jackie Robinson’s childhood was both exciting and difficult. He was born in 1919 and his father abandoned the family soon after. Then the family moved to California. Later, he went to UCLA and was an all-around athlete. He starred in football, baseball, basketball and track.
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Jackie Robinson's health had begun to fade. And by age fifty three he was nearly blind and crippled from a variety of ailments. His hair had turned snow white. In honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his major league debut, he was invited to throw out the first pitch in the second game of the 1972 World Series in Cincinnati. In accepting the plaque commemorating his achievements and contributions he, in typical "Jackie Robinson" fashion, criticized baseball for not having a Black manager. Nine days later he died.
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Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, raised Jackie and her four other children, because their father left them. They were the only black family on the block, and the prejudice they encountered was unbelievable. From this humble beginning, Jackie would grow up to be the first person to successfully break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He married Rachel Issum on Feb. 10, 1946. He had 3 children: Jackie Jr. (Died in 1971), Sharon and David.
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Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. After his father deserted them, Robinson's mother took him and his three siblings to Pasadena, California. He was an all-round athlete, competing in basketball and track in addition to baseball and football. After attending UCLA, he entered the army and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Once he was discharged he joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League as a shortstop.
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