Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 in Georgia. He is known for becoming the first black athlete in Major League Baseball, playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He dealt with a large amount of prejudice and racism throughout his lifetime. He died of heart problems alongside diabetes in 1972. Jack “Jackie” Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia to a single mother, and was the youngest of five children. His mother moved them to Pasadena and they stayed with her brother when her husband left. Although they remained poor, Jackie found a love for sports and played football, basketball, track, and baseball. He was inspired to pursue his love for sports by his older brother Matthew. Matthew Robinson won a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics …show more content…
He had to leave UCLA in 1941 because of financial issues. He then went and played football for the Honolulu Bears. His season was cut short when the United States entered World War II. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1944. Before he saw any action he was arrested during boot camp in 1944 for moving to the back of a segregated bus. He eventually received an honorable discharge. After this discharge he started playing professional baseball. During this time baseball was still a segregated sport and Jackie started with the Montreal Royals, in 1946. He married Rachel Isum earlier that year and they had three children together. Jackie Robinson started playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and was able to continue responding to the discrimination passively. Although many people believed Jackie Robinson should not have been allowed to play at all he earned the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1949. Jack became a hero of baseball and paved the way for other African-American players. He played for the Dodgers for a decade and his team finally won the World Series in 1955. In December of the next year Jackie was traded to the New York Giants. He retired on January 5, 1957 before ever playing a game for them. He continued to work toward social change after his retirement, even helping to establish the African American-owned and controlled Freedom