Jackie Robinson

Before the major leagues

Jackie Robinson in the Negro Leagues, 1945
Jackie Robinson
is a member of
the Baseball
Hall of Fame
Born in Cairo, Georgia, he moved with his mother, Mallie Robinson, and siblings Willie Mae, Mack, Frank and Edgar to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father deserted the family. He attended John Muir Junior College and Pasadena City College where he was an enthusiastic athlete. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player of football, basketball, track and baseball; the first athlete in UCLA history to letter in four different sports. Robinson's honors at UCLA were impressive: for two years, he was the highest scorer in basketball competition in the Pacific Coast Conference, national champion long jumper, All-American football halfback and varsity baseball shortstop. He left college in 1941 because of financial problems, not many credits from a bachelor's degree.

Robinson also met his future wife, Rachel Robinson, at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens. In 1941, Jackie played professional football for a team in Honolulu, Hawaii.

After leaving UCLA his senior year, Robinson enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was assigned to the U.S. 761st Tank Battalion, an all black battalion. While initially refused admission to Officer Candidate School, he fought for it and eventually was accepted and, upon graduation, was commissioned as a second lieutenant and branched Armor. While training in the Army at Fort Hood, Texas, Robinson refused to go to the back of a public bus. He was court-martialed for insubordination and, therefore, never made it to Europe with his unit. He later received an honorable discharge in 1944, after being acquitted of all charges at the court-martial.

Jackie played baseball in 1944 for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League, where he was noticed by Clyde Sukeforth, a scout working for Branch Rickey.


The Dodgers
Branch Rickey was the club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and had the secret goal of signing the Negro Leagues' top players to the team. Although there was no official ban on blacks in organized baseball, previous attempts at signing black baseball players had been thwarted by league officials and rival clubs in the past, and so Rickey operated undercover. Not even his scouts knew his true objective; they were told that they were seeking players for a new all-black league Rickey was forming.


Jackie Robinson and Branch RickeyRobinson drew national attention when Rickey selected him from a list of promising candidates and signed him. Robinson was a slightly curious candidate to be the first black Major Leaguer in fifty-seven years (see Moses Fleetwood Walker). Not only was he 27 (relatively old for a prospect), he also had a fiery temperament. While some felt his more laid-back future teammate Roy Campanella might have been a better candidate to face the expected abuse, Rickey chose Robinson, feeling that Jackie's outspoken nature would, in the long run, be more beneficial for their cause than Campanella's relative docility. But to be sure Rickey had the right man he laid upon Robinson a three-hour tirade of racial slurs, taunts, and insults in his office. Exasperated at the ordeal, Jackie asked if he should fight back. "I want someone with guts enough not to fight back," Rickey replied. The implication was clear: Jackie's entry in the majors was paving the way for other African-Americans to follow, and restraining his temper and his outspokenness were vital to furthering the program, at least until he became established as a major leaguer. Aware of what was at stake, Robinson agreed.

In 1946, Robinson was assigned to play for the Dodgers' minor league affiliate in Montreal, the Montreal Royals. Although that season was very tiring emotionally for Robinson, it was also a success in a city that treated him well and without the racial tension present in many North American cities of the times.

Robinson's debut at first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, in which he batted 0 for 3, was one of the most closely watched events in baseball history, and a profound moment in the history of the U.S. civil rights movement. Although he played his entire rookie year at first base, Robinson spent most of his career as a second baseman. He also played many games at third base and in the outfield.

During that first season, Robinson suffered considerable abuse. He generally conducted himself very well, though his composure cracked from time to time. For example, he punched an umpire in the face after the ump supposedly told him "go back to the jungle you little nigger!". Many Dodgers were highly resistant and hostile to his presence. A group of Dodger players, mostly Southerners led by Dixie Walker, insinuated they would rather strike than play alongside a black man such as Robinson, but the mutiny was ended when Dodger management informed the players they were welcome to find employment elsewhere.

He did have the support of Kentucky-born shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who proved to be his closest comrade on the team. During one game, Cincinnati players were screaming at Jackie, and then they started to get on Reese as well. They were yelling things at him like "How can you play with this nigger?", with Jackie standing by first base. Pee Wee went over to him and put his arm around him and smiled. Jackie smiled back. The pair became a very effective defensive combination as a result. Pittsburgh Pirate Hank Greenberg, the first major Jewish baseball star who himself experienced anti-semitic abuse, also gave Robinson encouragement.

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