Jackie Robinson

January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. That’s when and where the great Jackie Robinson was born. Jackie Robinson never knew his father very well and was raised by his mother – Millie. As a kid, he played sports constantly. He ran track and played football, basketball, tennis and baseball. He was a star on the baseball team and played quarterback on the football team.

Growing up, Jackie often had to put up with racism. People loved him when he was helping them win on the field, but as soon as he stepped off, it was a battlefield. Jackie attended UCLA where he played baseball, football and basketball. He also ran track. Because of his accomplishments, he entered the UCLA record books as the first athlete to earn letters in all four sports. After graduating, he briefly played professional football, but his career was cut short when he was drafted.

One day, Jackie was on the army bus and refused to move to the back. He got in trouble and was given an honourable discharge. That was in 1944. After he left the army, he picked baseball back up. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Baseball League. While he was playing, he met a man named Branch Rickey. Rickey had big plans for major league baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers. He wanted to win the trophy and had the brilliant idea of using the noticeable talents of players from the Negro League to help him do it. Jackie Robinson was one of the first players Rickey picked as part of his plans.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie broke the infamous colour barrier in baseball as a successful baseball player in the Major League. He had to deal with numerous death threats, people calling him names, and many other horrible acts. It was hard for him but he was internally strong.

Jackie may not have had an outstanding career by the numbers, but he will always be remembered more for his historic actions. In 1997, Major League Baseball officials had every team retire the number 42 in his honour. Now, April 15th is Jackie Robinson Day, where every player wears the number “42”.