Jackie Robinson
Sign in to saveAmerican baseball player (1919–1972)
AI overview
Jackie Robinson was an American baseball player who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the first African American to play in the modern era of the sport. His achievement was historically significant because it challenged racial segregation in professional sports and became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1919
- Died
- 1972
- Works
- 24
Top works
- I Never Had It Made - An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
- Telegram from Jackie Robinson to President Lyndon B. Johnson
- Telegram from Jackie Robinson to President John F. Kennedy, June 15th, 1963
- Telegram from Jackie Robinson to E. Frederick Morrow, August 13th, 1957
- Letter from Jackie Robinson to Roland L. Elliott, April 20, 1972
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Cairo, Georgia, USA
Known for
- Clemente — Self (Archive Footage)2025
- Hollywood Black — Self (archive footage)2024
- It Ain't Over — Self (archive footage)2023
- Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL — Self (archive footage)2022
- Jackie Robinson: Get to the Bag2022
- Say Hey, Willie Mays! — Self2022
Article
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson was raised in Pasadena, California. A four-sport student athlete at Pasadena Junior College and the University of California, Los Angeles, he was better known for football than he was for baseball, becoming a star with the UCLA Bruins football team. Following his college career, Robinson was drafted for service during World War II, but was court-martialed for refusing to sit at the back of a segregated Army bus, eventually being honorably discharged. Afterwards, he signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues, where he caught the eye of Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who thought he would be the perfect candidate for breaking the MLB color line.
Gallery (13)
Connections
Categories
1919 births1972 deaths20th-century African-American businesspeople20th-century African-American sportsmen20th-century American businesspeople20th-century American sportsmenActivists for African-American civil rightsAfrican-American baseball playersAfrican-American MethodistsAfrican-American tennis playersAfrican-American track and field athletes