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{{Infobox baseball player
| name=Jackie Robinson
| image name=Jrobinson.jpg
| birthdate=], ]
| birthplace=]
| dead=dead
| deathdate=], ]
| deathplace=]
| debutdate=], ]
| debutteam=]
| debutopponent= ]
| debutstadium= ]
| teams='''As Player'''<BR>
] (] - ])<BR>
| HOFer=HOFer
| inductiondate=]
| careerhighlights=<br>
* ] National League ]
* ] National League ]
* Six-time ]
}}

'''Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson''' (], ] - ], ]) became the first ] ] ] player of the modern era in ].<ref name=Rothe>Rothe, p544</ref> The ] inducted Robinson in 1962 and he was a member of six ] teams. Jackie earned six consecutive ] nominations and won several awards during his career. In 1947, Robinson won ] and the first ] Award. Two years later, Jackie was awarded his first MVP National League ]. In addition to his accomplishments on the field, Jackie Robinson was also a forerunner of the ]. He was a key figure in the establishment and growth of the ], an African-American owned and controlled entity, in the 1960s. He also wrote a syndicated newspaper column for a number of years, in which he was an outspoken supporter of both ] and less so ].<ref name ="Williams">Williams, Michael W.- Editor. <i>An African American Encyclopedia.</i> 1993.</ref>

Robinson actively campaigned for a number of politicians, including both Democrat ], and Republican ]. For years, he was controversially a member of the ], which was viewed among most minorities as a "white" party at the time.<ref name ="Frommer">Frommer, Harvey. <i>Jackie Robinson.</i> Watts Press, 1984.</ref>

In recognition of his accomplishments, Robinson was the recipient of both a ] and the ] posthumously.<ref name="Williams"/>

On April 15, 1997, ] retired the number ], the number Robinson wore, in recognition of his accomplishments both on the field and off the field.<ref name=MLB>MLB.com</ref> In 1950, he was the subject of a film biography, '']'', in which he played himself. He became a political activist in his post-playing days.

== Early life ==
]
In 1919, Jackie Robinson, the youngest of five children,<ref name=Bigelow>Bigelow, p225</ref> was born in ] during a ] ]. <ref name=Rampersad>Rampersad pp10-11</ref> In ] his family moved to ]<ref name=Rampersad>Rampersad, pp10-16</ref> after his father abandoned them.<ref name=Robinson>Robinson, p9</ref>

Growing up, he lived in relative poverty<ref>Rampersad, p23</ref> and even joined a local neighborhood ]. Eventually, friend Carl Anderson persuaded Robinson to abandon the gang.<ref>Rampersad, p35</ref>

In 1935, Jackie Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled in ] ("Muir Tech").<ref>Rampersad, p36</ref> There he played on various Muir Tech sport teams. He was a ] and ] on the ] team, a ] on the ] team, a ] on the ] team, and a member of the ] team and the ] squad. He won awards in the ].<ref>Rampersad, pp 36-37</ref>

In 1936, he captured the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament, starred as ], and earned a place on the annual Pomona baseball tournament all-star team, one which included future ] ] ] and ]. <ref>Rampersad, p37</ref> The next year, Jackie played for the high school's basketball team. That year, the Pasadena ''Star-News'' newspaper ran a piece on Jackie.<ref>Rampersad, pp37-39</ref>

After leaving Muir, Jackie attended ] and played both football and baseball.<ref>Rampersad, pp40-41</ref> He played quarterback and ] for the football team, shortstop and leadoff batter for the baseball team, and participated in the broad jump.


While at PJC, he was elected to the "Lancers", a student run police organization responsible for patrolling various school activities.<ref>Rampersad, p47</ref> He dated and made friends. However, on January 25, 1938, he was arrested, the reason speculative, and sentenced to two years probation.<ref>Rampersad, pp50-53</ref>

In 1938, he was elected to the All-Southland Junior College (baseball) Team and selected as the region's Most Valuable Player.<ref>Rampersad, p54</ref>

On February 4, 1939, he played his last basketball game at Pasadena Junior College Jackie then received a gold pin and was named to the school's "Order of the Mast and Dagger".<ref>Rampersad, pp59-61</ref>

== The Dodgers ==

]]]
In the late 1940s, ] was club president and ] of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan Collage.The Dodgers began to scout Robinson and Rickey eventually selected Jackie from a list of promising African-American players. Robinson became the first player in fifty-seven years to break the ].

In ], the Dodgers assigned Jackie to the ]. Robinson proceeded to lead the International League in batting average (.349) as well as fielding percentage (.985)<ref name=Journal>TheJournalofSportsHistory.org</ref> Because of Jackie's play in 1946, the Dodgers called him up to play for the major league club in ]. Robinson made his Major League debut on ], 1947, playing first base. He went 0 for 3 against the ], but the sport's color line had been shattered forever.

Throughout the season, Robinson experienced harassment at the hands of both players and fans. He was verbally abused by both his own teammates and by members of opposing teams. Some Dodger players insinuated they would sit out rather than play alongside Robinson. The mutiny ended when Dodger management informed those players that they were welcome to find employment elsewhere.

On ], 1947, during a game between the Dodgers and ], Phillies players called Jackie a "]" from their ], and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields."<ref>Ken Burns' documentary, BASEBALL, Part 6, minute 120</ref> Rickey would later recall that the Phillies' ], ], "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united thirty men."<ref>Ken Burns' documentary, BASEBALL, Part 6, minute 122</ref> Baseball Commissioner ] admonished the Phillies and asked Chapman to pose for photographs with Robinson as a conciliatory gesture.

Dodgers shortstop ], who would be a teammate of Robinson's for the better part of a decade, was one of the few players who publicly stood up for Robinson during his rookie season. During the team's first road trip, in ], Robinson was being heckled by fans when Reese, the Dodgers team captain, walked over and put his arm around Robinson in a gesture of support that quieted the fans and has now gained near-legendary status. In addition, the ] baseball star ], who had faced considerable ] earlier in his career, made a point of welcoming Robinson to the Major Leagues.

For his services, Jackie earned the major-league minimum salary of $5000--standard for many rookies at the time. That year, he played in 151 games, hit .297, led the National League in ]s and won the first-ever ] Award. It is also called the Jackie Robinson Award. Although Jackie played every game that season at first base, Robinson spent most of his career as a ].

Two years later, Jackie won the ] award for the ]. He would win his only championship ring when the Dodgers beat the ] in the ]. After the ] season, Robinson's contract was sold by the Dodgers to the ]. Rather than report to the Giants, Robinson chose to retire at age 37.

Robinson was a disciplined hitter and a versatile fielder. He had a .311 career ] and substantially more ] than ]s and was an outstanding base stealer. No other player since ] has stolen home more than Robinson. During his career, the Dodgers played in six World Series and Jackie played in six All-Star games. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a member of the All-Century Team. In one of his most famous quotes, he said "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."<ref>http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/history/robinson/index.htm</ref>

== Post-baseball life ==
], ]<br>From the National Archives]]

Robinson retired on ], ]. He had wanted to ] or ] in the major leagues, but received no offers.{{fact}} He became a vice-president for the ] corporation instead, and served on the board of the ] until 1967, when he resigned. During the early to late 50's, Jackie and Louis Ostrer owned Jackie Robinson's, a men's clothing store located on 125th St. in New York City.

He was inducted into the ] in 1962, his first year of eligibility, becoming the first African-American so honored. On ], 1972 the ] retired his uniform number 42 alongside ] (39) and ] (32).

Robinson made his final public appearance on ], ], before Game 2 of the ]. He used this chance to express his wish for a black manager to be hired by a Major League Baseball team.{{fact}}

This wish was granted two years later, following the 1974 season, when the ] gave their managerial post to ], a Hall of Fame bound slugger who was then still an active player, and no relation to Jackie Robinson. At the press conference announcing his hiring, Frank expressed his wish that Jackie had lived to see the moment.{{fact}}

Robinson's final few years were marked by tragedy. In 1971, his eldest son, Jackie, Jr., who had beaten back drug problems and was working as a Daytop Village counselor, was killed in an automobile accident. Also, Jackie suffered from ], virtually went blind, and suffered heart problems.

Jackie Robinson passed away in ] on ], ] at age 53 and was interred in the ] in ]. The highway that goes through the cemetery (]) has been renamed the ].<ref>Tygiel, p???</ref>

== Awards and recognition==
], ], where a major street has the honorary name Jackie Robinson Way.]]
*In March 1984, President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded Robinson the ].

* In 2000, he ranked number 44 on '']'s'' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the ].

* On ], ], the ] posthumously awarded Robinson the ], the highest award the Congress can bestow. Robinson's widow accepted the award in a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on ], ].

* At the ] ] groundbreaking for a new ] ballpark, ], scheduled to open in ], it was announced that the main entrance, modeled on the one in ]'s old ], will be called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Additionally, Mets owner ] said that the ] and ] would work with the Jackie Robinson Foundation to create a Jackie Robinson Museum and Learning Center in lower ], as well as fund scholarships for "young people who live by and embody Jackie's ideals."<ref> ''Mets honor Robinson at new home''. Accessed ], ]</ref>

==Trivia==
The 2004 book '']'' includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher ]. Robinson is prominent in many of these stories.

==Footnotes==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>

==See also==
* ]
* ]
*]

==References==
*Rampersad, Arnold. ''Jackie Robinson, a Biography'', ] (]), 1997. ISBN 0-679-44495-5
*Tygiel, Jules. ''Baseball's Great Experiment'', ], New York, ISBN 0195106199
*Bigelow, Barbara Carlisle, ed. ''Contemporary Black Biography'' vol. 6. Gale Research Inc. 1994. ISBN 0-8103-8558-9
*Moritz, Charles, ed. ''Current Biography Yearbook 1972'', H.W. Wilson Co, New York, 1972. ISBN 0-8242-0493-X
*Rothe, Anna, ed. ''Current Biography, Who's News and Why 1947'', H.W. Wilson Co, New York, 1948.
*MLB.com - http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nyy/history/retired_numbers.jsp
*Journal of Sports History - http://thejournalofsportshistory.org/history-of-baseball/jackie-robinson-a-triple-threat.html
*Robinson, Jackie. ''I Never Had It Made''. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1972
*Robinson, Sharon. ''Promises To Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America'' Scholastic, 2004.
*Williams, Michael W.- Ed. ''An African American Encyclopedia'' 1993.
*Frommer, Harvey. ''Jackie Robinson'' Watts Press, 1984.

== External links ==
* Correspondences with the White House
* Baseball Hall of Fame page
* Baseball statistics
* Library of Congress Robinson collection

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{{Persondata
|NAME=Robinson, Jackie
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Robinson, Jack Roosevelt (full name)
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American baseball player
|DATE OF BIRTH=] ]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=]
|DATE OF DEATH=] ]
|PLACE OF DEATH=]
}}

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Revision as of 18:07, 1 February 2007

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