Jackie Robinson

Episode 1

Jackie Robinson: Part One

Mon, Apr 11, 2016115 mins

Jackie Robinson's early life from humble beginnings to his rookie season in Major League Baseball. Robinson born to sharecropper farmers in rural Georgia, and was raised by his single mother in Pasadena, California. Robinson became a four sport star and met his future wife, Rachel Islum while attending UCLA. He was drafted into the army and became a second lieutenant in a tank battalion during World War 2. He faced court martial over a dispute arising from defending himself from discrimination but was honorably discharged. After the war, he played in the Negro leagues and soon attracted the attention of the Brooklyn Dodgers' Branch Rickey. A season with the Dodgers minor league affiliate, the Montreal Royals followed and Robinson broke the color barrier on April 15, 1947. In his first season he was subjected to racial slurs, abuse and threats but endured the onslaught to help his team win the pennant and win Rookie of the Year honors.