• Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. ​

• He grew up in Pasadena, California.

​Early Life

​Sports He Played

​He was a star athlete.

He played...

• Football

• Basketball

• Track

• Baseball

• Through 1942-1945 he was drafted and assigned to work in Kansas.

• After he left the Army, he played baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs.

​Army Life

• ​The team belonged to a Negro American League.

• At this time ONLY white players were allowed in the Major Leagues.

• The Negro Leagues were African American baseball teams in the United States.

• Branch Rickey, was the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• He was interested in making a big league open to black players.

• When Rickey met Robinson he knew he found the right person for the job.

• Robinson began playing for the Dodgers in 1947.

• By the end of his season, he was chosen as the "Best New Player".

• In 1949 he was awarded as the MVP.

​

MVP AWARD goes to...

​Things were not easy for Jackie. People and players would shout hateful words to him.

​Robinson refused to quit. He helped the Dodgers win 6 National League pennants and 1 World Series title.

​He always believed in himself and never listened to what people would tell him.

​He retired in 1957.

He became a businessman and worked for Civil Rights.

​In 1962, he became the 1st Black Player in the "Baseball Hall of Fame".

​Robinson passed in Stamford, Connecticut on October 24, 1972.

• Since 2004, baseball has honored Robinson's legacy by celebrating April 15th as "Jackie Robinson's Day".

• ​On April 15th, 1947, Jackie Robinson took the field as the first-basemen for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• ​On that day, ALL players and employees wear #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.