Jackie Robinson Biography

Fast Facts

• Served on the board of the NAACP until 1967, and was an activist for social change
• April 15, the anniversary of his MLB debut, is celebrated as Jackie Robinson Day in honor of the color barrier being broken in baseball
• Was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, the first African-American to receive the honor
• His older brother Matthew Robinson won a silver medal in the 200-meter dash at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, which inspired Jackie to pursue athletics
• Was the first athlete in the history of UCLA to letter in four sports, baseball, football, basketball, and track, in the same year, a feat he achieved in 1941
• A long-time advocate for equal rights, he was arrested and court-martialed during training in the Army after he refused to move to the back of a segregated bus, charges which were later acquitted
• Prior to the integration of baseball, he was a second baseman for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues․http://baseballhall․org/hof/robinson-jackie
• Quote: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives․"
• Played for the Brooklyn Dodgers as a second baseman
• Was the first African-American player to play in the major leagues in the 20th century