Jackie Robinson

Childhood

• Born on January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia
• Family of sharecroppers
• Youngest of five children
• Father left in 1920, family moved to Pasadena, California
• Only black family in Pepper Street neighborhood

Childhood (continued)

• Experienced lots of racial prejudice- inspired him to fight for equality
• Only brought Robinson family closer together
• Relatively poor family
• Mother was maid, Jackie delivered paper,mowed lawns, many other jobs
• Accepted in elementary school- a young sports star

Childhood (continued)

• Friends of many races in school- against racism at young age
• Began to become a troublemaker
• Joined minority Pepper Street Gang
• Reverend Karl Downs talked him out of it
• Sports helped him forget about gang, guided him away from mischief

High school

• Joined John Muir High School in 1935
• Excelled in baseball, basketball, football, track, tennis
• Received many awards for his athletic ability
• Happy, racism-free experience at Muir Tech
• Did well academically, graduated

COLLEGE

• Joined Pasadena Junior College in 1938
• Continued to excel in baseball, basketball, football, track
• Received several outstanding citizenship awards- fought back against racism
• Transferred to UCLA in 1939 following his brother's death
• Was still a star in those four sports, left early due to monetary issues

Life after college, military

• Played semi-pro football for Honolulu, Los Angeles in 1941
• Drafted to Army in 1942 following Pearl Harbor attack
• Was happy serving, planned to stay 
• 1944 bus segregation incident severely angered him
• Discharged a few months later, briefly played football again

Negro leagues

• Signed with Kansas City Monarchs in early 1945
• Hated it- no structure, bad stadiums, horrible scorekeeping
• Had great success, caught attention of MLB teams
• Left team 47 games through season
• Married Rachel Issum on Feb. 10th, 1946- married by Karl Downs

Joining the MLB

• Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey wanted a black player
• Signed Jackie on August 29th, 1945
• Contract stated Jackie couldn't fight back
• Jackie appalled by this- knew it would be very hard not to
• Joined Montreal Royals (Dodgers minor league team) in 1946

Breaking the color barrier

• Had success with Montreal, racism actually wasn't that bad
• Called up, broke color barrier with Dodgers on April 15th, 1947
• Thrown at, spiked, booed, called racist names, received death threats
• Teammates hated him at first, didn't support him, refused to play
• Hate gradually lessened, teammates, fans began to love him

Baseball accomplishments

• 6-time MLB All-Star
• 1947 Rookie of the Year
• 1949 National League MVP
• 1955 World Series champion
• Member of MLB All-Century Team, in the Hall of Fame

Life Outside of/after baseball

• Moved to Stamford, Connecticut in 1955
• Had three children with Rachel
• Taught many children about sports
• Also taught them life lessons
• Enjoyed spending time with his family

Jackie's Final Years

• Highly involved with civil rights, NAACP
• Was ABC baseball announcer in 1965
• Vice president of Chock Full o'Nuts from 1957-1964
• Went to many baseball games
• Died on October 24th, 1972 due to a heart attack

pOSITIve influences on humanity

• Broke baseball's color barrier
• Helped end racism everywhere through baseball
• Fought for civil rights after baseball career, strove for total equality
• Proved that all problems can be solved
• Showed that YOU can truly make a big difference in this world

Positive Influence on humanity (continued)

• Rose above hate
• Proved that all people are equal
• Inspired others to fight for what's right, NEVER quit
• Valued others more than himself
• Got his message across without violence, changed world for the better

HOW DID HE DO IT?

• Used nonviolence, baseball to get his message across
• Strongly fought for what he believed was right- no matter what
• Was extremely brave, determined- never let hate stop or discourage him
• Was mentally strong enough to endure inhumane cruelty toward him 
• Was iron-willed, passionate- never quit despite his horrible treatment  

APplication of influence

• Stand up strongly for what you believe in
• Never let others' opinions get in your way
• Never give up no matter how hard the problem is
• Always think about how you can better the lives of others
• Be determined- you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to

Jackie's Legacy

• Enabled people of all races to play and love baseball
• Jackie Robinson Day
• Jackie Robinson Foundation
• Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom after his death in 1986
• Still very popular in media-  including 2013 hit movie "42"

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