Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson)

Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 near Cairo, Georgia. His parents were Mallie and Jerry Robinson. Jackie was the youngest of 5 children. Jackie’s grandfather had been a slave.

He attended Pasadena Junior College. Jackie played in track and field, football, basketball, and baseball. Next, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) he was a great athlete and starred in four sports again. He married Rachel Annett Isum in 1946. They later had three children.

Robinson broke the baseball color line when he played with the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1947. He was the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball, since the 1880s. African-Americans were not treated fairly during this time. Whites didn’t believe that African-Americans should play on the same team as white people. Jackie was brave for being the first African-American to play on a Major League Baseball team and because of this bravery he brought an end to racial segregation in professional baseball.

In 1962, Jackie was the first African-American to be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. He made a huge impact on the game of baseball. Jackie Robinson died on October 24, 1972, when he was 53 years old.