Jackie Robinson featured in as many as six Major League Baseball All-Star Games - straight from 1949-1954. He was chosen the Major League Baseball Rookie Player of the Year in 1947, and Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1949. Jackie Robinson's accomplishments on the baseball diamond make him one of the greatest baseball player that the world has ever seen, but that isn't all that Jack Roosevelt 'Jackie' Robinson is known for! More than his baseball accomplishments, Jackie Robinson is remembered for 'breaking the barrier of racial segregation in the field of sports' - which was at its peak back then.
Accomplishments of Jack Roosevelt 'Jackie' Robinson
Jackie Robinson was born on 31st January, 1919, in Cairo city, in Grady County of Georgia. He was named Jack Roosevelt Robinson in the honor of President Theodore Roosevelt who died 25 days before Jack was born. After Jackie's father died in 1920, the Robinson family shifted to Pasadena, California. At the age of 16, Jackie graduated from the Washington Junior High School and joined the John Muir High School (Muir Tech) in 1935. Inspired by his older brothers Mack (silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics) and Frank, Jackie decided to pursue his interest in sports and took active interest in football, basketball, track and field - other than baseball, at the varsity level. In course of time, Jackie joined the Pasadena Junior College (PJC) for further education, where his marvelous performance in baseball earned him a place in the All-Southland Junior College Team in 1938.
One of the first in the lengthy list of Jackie Robinson's achievements came in the same year when he was elected the Most Valuable Player for the region. On 25th January, 1938, Jackie was arrested for voicing his disagreement on the arrest of a black friend by the police - one of the first instances wherein he had to bear the brunt of racial hatred. After graduating from PJC in 1939, he joined the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he continued his stint with various sports. The same year he became one of the only four black players in the UCLA Bruins football team. In 1941, Jackie left the college, and joined as the athletic director for the National Youth Administration (NYA) in California. After NYA was terminated shortly, he moved to Honolulu where he played semi-professional football. By the end of the year, Jackie was back in California playing for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League.
His brief stint with the army began when he was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1942. (see Jackie Robinson timeline) In 1944, however, he was court-martialled for two counts of insubordination following the 6th July, 1944, incident wherein he boarded an army bus and refused to occupy the back seat as directed by the bus driver. Though he was acquitted by the nine-member panel, he was not able to take part in combat action in the World War II because of the court martial. Jackie was eventually transferred to Kentucky - where he served as a athletic coach until he was discharged from the service in November 1944.
In 1945, when Jackie Robinson was the athletic director at Sam Huston College in Austin, he got an offer to play in the Negro League for the Kansas City Monarchs. He played 47 games at shortstop for the Monarchs, in course of which he was also chosen to play in the Negro League All-Star Game in 1945. In August the same year, he was appeared by Branch Rickey - the general manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who offered him a contract of $600 per month to play for Brooklyn's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals. On 23rd October 1945, after the contract signing took place, the management made it public that Robinson would play for Montreal Royals in 1946 season. In what was referred to as The Noble Experiment, Jackie Robinson became the first black baseball player in the International League since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s.
Jackie Robinson's brief stint in the Minor League was perhaps one of the most memorable phase of his life. On 17th March, 1946, he made his debut for the Montreal Royals in an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark. As of result of this Robinson became the first black player to openly play for a Minor League team since the 1880s. On 18th April, 1946, Robinson made his professional debut for the Royals in the season opener against the Jersey City Giants' at the Roosevelt Stadium. His amazing performance earned Royals' 14-1 victory over the Giants. Jackie's golden run continued for the rest of the season, at the end of which he had a batting average of .349 and fielding percentage of .985 along with the distinction of being the Most Valuable Player of the League for that season.
The Brooklyn Dodgers' management took yet another step forward, and signed Robinson for the Major League 1947 season. What was nothing short of one of the golden moments in the American sports arena, Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York on 15th April, 1947, in front of an audience of 26,623 people. With this Jackie Robinson became the first black player to openly break the Major League baseball color line. Robinson's debut got a mixed response from the media and other MLP players. While the racial tension in the Dodger clubhouse was brought to an end with Manager Leo Durocher taking a stand for Robinson, the same in the National League was brought an end with the management stating that those who go on strike would be suspended. After making news - both on and off the field, Robinson ended the 1947 Major League baseball season with 12 home runs, 29 steals (most for that season), batting average of .297 batting average, slugging percentage of .427 slugging and scoring 125 runs.
As other black players entered Major League Baseball, the racial pressure of Jackie Robinson subsided to a great extent in the following season. He went on to win the Most Valuable Player of the league for the next two seasons. In 1950, he earned $35,000 as salary which was the highest ever in the Dodger clubhouse to that point of time. The year also marked the beginning of Robinson's short stint with Hollywood when he played 'himself' in a movie based on his life titled - The Jackie Robinson Story. Three more MVP titles were added to the list of Jackie Robinson accomplishments over the next three years. Brooklyn Dodgers defeated New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series - though it was Jackie Robinson's first championship, it was his worst season till date. He finally announced his retirement from baseball on 5th January, 1957.
Accomplishments of Jack Roosevelt 'Jackie' Robinson
Jackie Robinson was born on 31st January, 1919, in Cairo city, in Grady County of Georgia. He was named Jack Roosevelt Robinson in the honor of President Theodore Roosevelt who died 25 days before Jack was born. After Jackie's father died in 1920, the Robinson family shifted to Pasadena, California. At the age of 16, Jackie graduated from the Washington Junior High School and joined the John Muir High School (Muir Tech) in 1935. Inspired by his older brothers Mack (silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics) and Frank, Jackie decided to pursue his interest in sports and took active interest in football, basketball, track and field - other than baseball, at the varsity level. In course of time, Jackie joined the Pasadena Junior College (PJC) for further education, where his marvelous performance in baseball earned him a place in the All-Southland Junior College Team in 1938.
One of the first in the lengthy list of Jackie Robinson's achievements came in the same year when he was elected the Most Valuable Player for the region. On 25th January, 1938, Jackie was arrested for voicing his disagreement on the arrest of a black friend by the police - one of the first instances wherein he had to bear the brunt of racial hatred. After graduating from PJC in 1939, he joined the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he continued his stint with various sports. The same year he became one of the only four black players in the UCLA Bruins football team. In 1941, Jackie left the college, and joined as the athletic director for the National Youth Administration (NYA) in California. After NYA was terminated shortly, he moved to Honolulu where he played semi-professional football. By the end of the year, Jackie was back in California playing for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League.
His brief stint with the army began when he was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1942. (see Jackie Robinson timeline) In 1944, however, he was court-martialled for two counts of insubordination following the 6th July, 1944, incident wherein he boarded an army bus and refused to occupy the back seat as directed by the bus driver. Though he was acquitted by the nine-member panel, he was not able to take part in combat action in the World War II because of the court martial. Jackie was eventually transferred to Kentucky - where he served as a athletic coach until he was discharged from the service in November 1944.
In 1945, when Jackie Robinson was the athletic director at Sam Huston College in Austin, he got an offer to play in the Negro League for the Kansas City Monarchs. He played 47 games at shortstop for the Monarchs, in course of which he was also chosen to play in the Negro League All-Star Game in 1945. In August the same year, he was appeared by Branch Rickey - the general manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who offered him a contract of $600 per month to play for Brooklyn's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals. On 23rd October 1945, after the contract signing took place, the management made it public that Robinson would play for Montreal Royals in 1946 season. In what was referred to as The Noble Experiment, Jackie Robinson became the first black baseball player in the International League since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s.
Jackie Robinson's brief stint in the Minor League was perhaps one of the most memorable phase of his life. On 17th March, 1946, he made his debut for the Montreal Royals in an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark. As of result of this Robinson became the first black player to openly play for a Minor League team since the 1880s. On 18th April, 1946, Robinson made his professional debut for the Royals in the season opener against the Jersey City Giants' at the Roosevelt Stadium. His amazing performance earned Royals' 14-1 victory over the Giants. Jackie's golden run continued for the rest of the season, at the end of which he had a batting average of .349 and fielding percentage of .985 along with the distinction of being the Most Valuable Player of the League for that season.
The Brooklyn Dodgers' management took yet another step forward, and signed Robinson for the Major League 1947 season. What was nothing short of one of the golden moments in the American sports arena, Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York on 15th April, 1947, in front of an audience of 26,623 people. With this Jackie Robinson became the first black player to openly break the Major League baseball color line. Robinson's debut got a mixed response from the media and other MLP players. While the racial tension in the Dodger clubhouse was brought to an end with Manager Leo Durocher taking a stand for Robinson, the same in the National League was brought an end with the management stating that those who go on strike would be suspended. After making news - both on and off the field, Robinson ended the 1947 Major League baseball season with 12 home runs, 29 steals (most for that season), batting average of .297 batting average, slugging percentage of .427 slugging and scoring 125 runs.
As other black players entered Major League Baseball, the racial pressure of Jackie Robinson subsided to a great extent in the following season. He went on to win the Most Valuable Player of the league for the next two seasons. In 1950, he earned $35,000 as salary which was the highest ever in the Dodger clubhouse to that point of time. The year also marked the beginning of Robinson's short stint with Hollywood when he played 'himself' in a movie based on his life titled - The Jackie Robinson Story. Three more MVP titles were added to the list of Jackie Robinson accomplishments over the next three years. Brooklyn Dodgers defeated New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series - though it was Jackie Robinson's first championship, it was his worst season till date. He finally announced his retirement from baseball on 5th January, 1957.
With all these on field accomplishments, Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on 23rd July, 1962. He became the first black player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York. The list of his off-field accomplishments - on the other hand, continued to grow with time. His stint as the Vice-President at Chock full o'Nuts from 1957 to 1964, made him the first black person to serve as vice president of a major American corporation. In 1965, he accepted the offer of serving as an analyst for ABC's Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecasts and became the first black person to pull of this feat.
Labels: Accomplishments
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