Jackie Robinson

Birth Name:

Jack Roosevelt Robinson

Birth Place:

Cairo, Georgia, United States

Profession

Actor

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

Fast Facts