jackie robinson
January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972
jackie robinson
Jackie spent over a decade in Major League Baseball, winning the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, also appearing in the leagues All-Star game for 6 consecutive seasons. He became the first African American player to win the the Major League Baseball’s Most Valuable Player Award (NL) award in 1949,
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play Major League Baseball.
Robinson broke baseball's color barrier when he started in a game at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of Racial segregation in professional baseball.
Up until that point African American baseball players had been segregated to the Negro League, a tradition that had been around since the 1890s.
Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Major League Baseball's National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
During his 10-year career playing Major League Baseball, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and was an all-star for 6 consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954.
Jackie won the National League's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 1949—the first black player to be so honored.
Robinson played in 6 World Series games, making significant contributions for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1955 season, culminating in a 1955 World Series Championship.
In 1997, Major League Baseball officially retired his uniform number 42, across all of major league. Jackie was the last player to wear the number 42 in Major League history, becoming the first professional athlete in any sport to be honored in this way.
Major LeagueBaseball also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears the number 42.
Jackie Robinson legacy is one that championed and succeeded through the use of nonviolence.
Jackie used his talents off the field combined with his incredible athletic talent on the field to challenge the traditional basis for segregation.
When baseball historians recall Robinson’s story, it’s important to remember that segregation was not just a phenomenon unique to baseball.
Segregation had marked every aspect of American life, and this change would significantly influence the culture of the nations and contribute to the civil rights movement. [8] [9]
Off the baseball diamond, Robinson was the first black television analyst in Major League Baseball history, and was also the first black vice president of a major American corporation, serving in this capacity for Chock full o'Nuts.
In the 1960s, he helped establish the First Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York.
After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the baseball field.
In 1935, Jackie Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir High School (Muir Tech). [22]
Recognized early on by his unique athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers Mack and Frank inspired Jackie to pursue a career in professional sports, of which Jackie played many.
Jackie’s brother, Mac Robinson was already an accomplished athlete and awarded a silver medalist competing for the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics. [21]
At Muir Tech, Robinson played almost every sport the school had to offer. While at Muir, sports was his thing. He played at the varsity level and lettered in four: football, basketball, track and field, and baseball.
As a baseball player Jackie played shortstop and catcher, while quarterbacking on the football team, and playing point guard on school’s basketball team. With the track and field squad, he won awards in the broad jump and sprint. He was also a member of the tennis team. [25]
In late January of 1937, the Pasadena Star-News newspaper reported that Robinson had been an outstanding athlete for two years a Muir High School, starring in football, basketball, track, baseball and tennis.
After Muir, Robinson went on to attend Pasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career by participating in the school's basketball, football, baseball, and track programs. [28]
On the football team, he played quarterback and safety. He was a shortstop and leadoff hitter for the baseball team, and he broke an American junior college broad-jump record held by his brother Mack with a jump of 25 ft. 6+1⁄2 inches on May 7, 1938. [29]
Similar to his experience at Muir High School, [most] all of Jackie's teammates were white.
While playing football at PJC, Robinson suffered a fractured ankle and further complications that would eventually delay his deployment status while enlisted in the United States military. [30] [31]
In 1938, he was elected to the All-Southland Junior College Team for baseball and selected as the region's Most Outstanding Player. [24] [32]
That year, Robinson was one of the top 10 students named to the school's Order of the Mast and Dagger (Omicron Mu Delta), awarded to students who performed "outstanding service to the school and whose scholastic and citizenship record is worthy of recognition." [33]
Also while at PJC, he was elected to the Lancers, a student-run police organization responsible for patrolling various school activities. [34]
One incident in particular at PJC illustrated Jackie's impatience with authority figures he perceived as racist—a characteristic that would resurface repeatedly in his life.
On January 25, 1938, he was arrested by police after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by the police. [35]
Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incident—along with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and police—gave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism.
While at PJC, he was motivated by preacher, Reverend Karl Downs, and regularly attended church services. Reverend Downs became a confidant for Jackie, as both men bonded as brothers in Christ.
Toward the end of tenure at PJC, Jackie's brother, Frank was killed in a motorcycle accident.
This sudden and tragic event in his life motivated him even further to pursue his athletic career at nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to his family. [37]
After graduating from PJC in spring 1939, Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.
He was just one of four African American players on the Bruins' 1939 football team; the others were Woody Strode, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett.
Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the team's four backfield players. This came during a time time when only a few black students played mainstream college football. This made UCLA College Football's most integrated team. [43] [44]
The Bruins went undefeated with four ties finishing the season at 6–0–4.
Robinson finished the year with 12.2 yards per attempt on 42 carries, which is the school's football record for highest rushing yards per carry in a season as of 2024. Robinson also led the NCAA in punt return average in the 1939 and 1940 seasons.
In track and field, he won the 1940 NCAA championship in the long jump at 24 ft 10+1⁄4 in (7.58 m). [47]
Baseball was considered to be Robinson's worst sport at UCLA where he hit .097 in his only season.
While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum, a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career at PJC.
He played football his senior year, but the 1940 Bruins won only one game.
In the spring of that year, Robinson left college just shy of graduation, despite the reservations of his mother and Isum. He took a job as an assistant athletic director with the government's National Youth Administration (NYA) in Atascadero, California. [52 ] [53] [54]
After the government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to Honolulu in the fall of 1941 to play football for the semi-professional, racially integrated Honolulu Bears.
After a short season, Robinson returned to California, in December 1941 to pursue a career as running back for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League.
However, by that time the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place, drawing the United States into World War II and ending Robinson's nascent football career.
In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit at Fort Riley in Kansas.
Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located primarily at Fort Riley.
Although the Army's initial guidelines for OCS in 1941 had been drafted as race neutral, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership.
As a result, the applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months.
After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and with the help of Truman Gibson (then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War), the men were accepted into OCS. [59] [60]
The experience led to a close personal friendship between Robinson and Louis and upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1943.
Shortly thereafter, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged.
After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to Fort Hood, where he joined the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion.
While in Texas, Robinson often used his weekend leave to visit Reverend Downs, now President of Sam Huston College in nearby Austin.
On July 6, 1944, Robinson's military career was derailed, while awaiting the results of a hospital test on an ankle injury that he had sustained in junior college.
On one occasion, he boarded a full Army bus with his senior officer's wife, and although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver immediately ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus. [67] [68]
Robinson refused and the driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the bus line, summoned the military police, who later took Robinson into custody.
When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed. [66] [70]
After Robinson's commander in the 761st, Paul L. Bates, refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to the 758th Battalion—where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink. [71]
By the time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning. Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers. [66]
Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas; thus, he never saw combat action. [73]
After his acquittal, he was transferred back to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge in November of 1944.
While coaching athletics for the United States Army, Robinson met a former player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, who encouraged Robinson to write the Monarchs and ask for a tryout. [75]
Robinson took the advice and wrote a persona letter to Monarchs co-owner, Thomas Baird.
After his honorable discharge from military service, Robinson briefly returned to his old football club, the Los Angeles Bulldogs, later accepting an offer from his old friend and pastor Reverend Downs to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College in Austin, Texas.
At the time the Bulldogs were just one of several teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. [77]
The job mainly included coaching the school's basketball team for the 1944 and 1945 seasons.
As a fledgling program, few students had tried out for the basketball team, and due to the lack of student players, Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into the lineup for some short handed exhibition games.
His teams were frequently outmatched by opponents because of this.
As a coach, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian in his coaching style drew the admiration of others with his charisma, including Langston University basketball player Marques Haynes, who was a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
In early 1945, while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the Kansas City Monarchs responded to Robinsons letter by sending him a written offer to play professional baseball in the Negro National League II (NNLII).
Thrilled by the response, Robinson quickly accepted Kansas City's contract offer paying him a salary of $400 per month.
Although he played well for the Monarchs, Robinson soon became frustrated with his experience in the Negro Leagues. He had grown used to playing in a structured environment in college, and the disorganized natures of the leagues, combined with their backing of men who had interests in gambling appalled him. [81]
The hectic travel schedule also placed a burden on his relationship with his wife, with whom he could now only communicate with by written letter.
Throughout his entire career playing in the Negro Leagues, Robinson played 47 games at shortstop for the KC Monarchs, hitting .387 with 5 home runs, and 13 stolen bases.
He also made an appearance in the 1945 East–West All-Star Game, going 0-5.
During the season, Robinson had pursued some potential major league interest.
No black man had ever played Major League Baseball, at least since Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884.
However, the Boston Red Sox nevertheless held a tryout for Robinson at Fenway Park and a select group of African American players on April 16, 1944. [87] [88]
However, the try outs were considered to be a farce, designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of the powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. Muchnick.
Attendance to the workout had been strictly limited only to league management, and yet Robinson was still subjected to racial epithets. [90]
He left the tryout humiliated, and more than 14 years later, in July 1959, the Red Sox became the final major league team to integrate its roster. [89]
Other teams had more serious interest in signing a black ballplayer.
In the mid-1940s, general manager and Dodgers club president, Branch Rickey, began to scout the Negro Leagues for possible additions to the Dodgers' roster.
He chose Robinson from a long list of promising professional black baseball players, interviewing him personally about a possible assignment to Brooklyn's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals.
Rickey was especially interested in making sure his eventual signee could withstand the racial abuse and threats of violence that would be directed his way. [92]
In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945, Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrily—a concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military.
Robinson was aghast: “are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?”, he asked. [93] [95]
Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with enough guts not to fight back."
After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to racial antagonism, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $600 a month, equal to $9,031 today. Rickey did not offer compensation to the Monarchs, instead believing all Negro league players were free agents due to the contracts not containing a reserve clause. [96] [97]
Among those with whom Rickey discussed prospects with was confidant Wendell Smith, a writer for the weekly Pittsburgh Courier, who, according to Cleveland Indians owner and team president Bill Veeck, "influenced Rickey to take Jack Robinson, for which he's never completely gotten credit." [99]
Although he required Robinson to keep their arrangement a secret, Branch Rickey formally committed to signing Jackie Robinson before November 1, 1945. [100]
On October 23, it was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Minor League Brooklyn Royals for the 1946 season.
On the same day, with representatives of the Royals and Dodgers present, Robinson formally signed a contract with the Royals. In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", [52]
Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s.
He wasn't necessarily the greatest player to ever play in the Negro Leagues, and other black talent such as, Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, were upset when Robinson was selected first. [104]
Larry Doby, who broke the color line in the American League the same year as Robinson, said;
"One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jackie was not the best player in the Negro Leagues. The best was Josh Gibson. I think that's one of the reasons why Josh died so early—he was heartbroken." [107]
Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave the Negro Leagues, and the Kansas City Monarchs behind. Leaving behind the grueling bus rides and meager pay, allowing him to home to Pasadena.
In September, he signed with Chet Brewer's Kansas City Royals, a post-season barnstorming team in the California Winter League. [108]
Later that off-season, he briefly toured South America with another barnstorming team, while his fiancée pursued nursing opportunities in New York City. On February 10, 1946, Robinson and his fiancée were married by their old friend, Reverend Karl Downs. [109]
In 1946, Robinson arrived at Daytona Beach Florida, for spring training with the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League. Clay Hopper, the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodger affiliate but his.
However, Rickey refused.
Robinson's overall presence was controversial in Florida due to the nature of racial segregation.
He was not allowed to stay with his white teammates at the team hotel, instead forced to lodge at the home of Joe and Dufferin Harris, a politically active African American couple who introduced the Robinson's to civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. [113] [114] [115]
Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility, scheduling was subject to the whim of the area localities, several of which turned down any potential event involving Robinson or Johnny Wright, another black player whom Rickey had signed to the Dodgers' organization in January.
In Sanford Florida, the police threatened to cancel public games if Robinson and/or Johnny Wright did not cease their baseball related training activities there, and as a result, Robinson and Wright were sent back to Daytona Beach. [118]
In Jacksonville, the stadium was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director. In DeLand, a scheduled day game was postponed, ostensibly because of issues with the stadium's electrical lighting.
After much lobbying made to local officials by Rickey himself, the Royals were finally allowed to host a game involving Robinson in Daytona Beach. Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, 1946, in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers.
Robinson thus became the first black player to play for a minor league team against a major league team since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s. [123] [124]
Later in spring training of that season, after some less-than-stellar performances, Robinson was shifted from shortstop to second base, allowing him to make shorter throws to first base.
Robinson's performance soon rebounded and on April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the Jersey City Giants season opener against the Montreal Royals.
Robinsons professional debut the Montreal Royals marked the first time the color barrier had been broken in a minor league game.
Warren Sandel pitched that game against Robinson, who was familiar with his style, as they had both played against each other when they both lived in California.
During Robinson's first at bat, the Jersey City catcher, Dick Bouknight, demanded that Sandel throw at Robinson, but the pitcher Sandel refused. Instead he induced Robinson to ground out in his first at bat.
Robinson ended up with four hits in his five plate appearances; his first hit was a three-run home run in the third inning of the game. Robinson also scored four runs, drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory. [127]
Jackie proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 batting average and a fielding percentage of .985, being named the league's Most Valuable Player.
The Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson.
Whether fans supported or opposed it, Robinson's presence on the field was a boon for attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an astounding figure by International League standards.
In the fall of 1946, following the baseball season, Robinson returned home to California and briefly played professional basketball for the short-lived Los Angeles Red Devils. [132] [133]
BREAKING THE MAJOR LEAGUE COLOR BARRIER:
In 1947, Brooklyn called Robinson up to the major leagues six days before the start of the season.
With Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson played his initial major league season as a first baseman.
Robinson made his debut in a Dodgers uniform wearing number 42 on April 11, 1947, in a preseason exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24,237 in attendance.
On April 15, Robinson made his debut in Major League Basball at the age of 28, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.
Over 26,623 spectators were in attendance for the game, with more than 14,000 African Americans in attendance. Although he failed to get a hit in his first at-bat, he walked and later scored a run for the Dodgers' in their 5–3 victory.
With this single at-bat, Robinson became the first black player since 1884 to openly break the Major League Baseball color barrier.
African-American attendance at Major League Baseball games began to grow. Soon large numbers of black baseball fans began attending games regularly, and in large numbers.
It didn’t matter where the game was played, African American gravitated toward the Brooklyn Dodgers and Major League Baseball.
As for the Negro Leagues, black players began to give the Major Leagues their full attention, abandoning their allegiance to the Negro Leagues and their teams when possible. [136]
Robinson's promotion to the Majors was greeted with generally positivity.
However, reception among newspapers, sportswriters and white major league players was mixed.
There was an aire of racial tension that existed not only in the league but in the Dodger clubhouse.
Some Dodger players insinuated to the media that they would rather sit out than play alongside Robinson. [138]
The mutiny ended when the Brooklyn Dodgers management took a stand for Jackie.
Dodgers Manager, Leo Durocher informed the team, "I do not care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin' zebra. I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What's more, I say he can make us all rich. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded." [139]
The racial tension inside the locker room rivaled that opposing teams.
According to a press report, the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson were to take the field. The Cardinals also threatened to spread the idea of a walkout across the National League.
Existence of the plot was said to have been leaked by the Cardinals' team physician, Robert Hyland, to a friend, the New York Herald Tribune's Rutherford "Rud" Rennie.
The reporter, concerned about protecting Hyland's anonymity and his job, in turn leaked it to his Tribune colleague and editor, Stanley Woodward, whose own subsequent reporting with other sources protected Hyland.
Woodward’s article made national headlines. [142]
After it was published, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended.
"You will find that the friends that you think you have in the press box will not support you, that you will become outcasts,"
Frick was quoted as saying. "I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. All will be suspended and I don't care if it wrecks the National League for five years. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another." [144] [145] [146] [147]
Woodward's article received the E. P. Dutton Award in 1947 for Best Sports Reporting.
St. Louis Cardinals players denied that they were spreading the plans to strike, with Woodward eventually later told author Roger Kahn that Frick was his true source; writer Warren Corbett said that Frick's speech "never happened".
Regardless, the report led to Robinson receiving increased support from the sports media. Even the conservative periodical, The Sporting News, a publication that had previously shown support for segregated baseball, came out against the idea of a strike against Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Still, Robinson was a target both on and off the field. He was still the target of a physical style of play at second from league competition. Games between the Cardinals and Dodgers were frequently some of the most physical series of the season.
Robinson even received a seven-inch gash in his leg from the sliding legs of Enos Slaughter.
On April 22, 1947, the Brooklyn game against Philadelphia became a story when Phillies players and team manager, Ben Chapman called Robinson a "nigger" from their dugout and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields". [150]
Branch Rickey later recalled that Chapman "did more than anybody else to unite the Dodgers during these time he solidified and united thirty men."
Jackie also received significant encouragement from several top Major League Baseball players of the time. Robinson was impressed by Phillies player Lee "Jeep" Handley, who he said was the first opponent to wish him well.
Robinson also found support from his teammates.
For example, Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." [153]
In 1947, Reese is said to have put his arm around Jackie in response to opposing fans who shouted racial slurs at him before a game in Cincinnati. A statue by sculptor William Behrends, unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, 2005, depicts this scene with Reese's with his arm around Robinson.
Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg, also dealt with fans expressing their racial animus toward him during his career. He also spoke very highly of Robinson in the media and encouraged embracing the change of ending segregation in Major League Baseball. He did this in his interactions with fans, players, and league management. [156]
This followed an incident where Greenberg collided with Robinson at first base, and as he got up he whispered a few words into Robinson's ear, which Robinson later characterized as words of encouragement. [157]
Greenberg continuously reminded Robinson that the best way to overcome his critics was by defeating them on the field.
Jackie also shared a bond and frequently consulted with Larry Doby, who was enduring his own hardships, becoming the first black player in the American League for the Cleveland Indians.
These two pioneers of Major League Baseball often took the opportunity to speak with one another via telegram or on snap/instagram throughout the season.
Robinson finished the season having played a total of 151 games on the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
His rookie year with the Dodgers ended with a .297 batting average, an OBP of .383, and a slugging percentage of .427. Jackie also tallied 175 hits, doubles, 5 triples, and 12 home runs. He also scored 125 runs, driving in 48 total runs on the season.
Further, Jackie led the National league in sacrifice hits (28) and in stolen bases (29). [159] His cumulative performance during the season earned him the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National and American League Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949).
Robinson once told future Hall of Fame inductee Hank Aaron that "the game of baseball is great, but the greatest thing is what you do after your career is over.” [230]
Robinson retired from baseball at age of 37, on January 5, 1957. Later that year, after he complained of numerous physical ailments, he was diagnosed with diabetes, a disease that also afflicted his brothers.
Although Robinson adopted an insulin injection regimen, the state of medicine at the time could not prevent the continued deterioration of Robinson's physical condition from the disease. [232]
In October of 1959, Robinson entered the Greenville Municipal Airport's whites-only waiting room. Airport police asked Robinson to leave, but he refused.
At a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) speech in Greenville, South Carolina, Robinson urged "complete freedom" and encouraged black citizens to vote and to protest their second-class citizenship.
The following January, approximately 1,000 people marched on New Year's Day to the airport,[234] [235] which was desegregated shortly thereafter. [236]
In his first year of eligibility for the MLB’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, Robinson encouraged HOF voters to consider him only on the basis of his on-field qualifications, rather than considering his cultural impact on the game. [237]
He was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, becoming the first African-American player to be inducted into the Cooperstown museum in New York. [73]
In 1965, Robinson became the first African American to work as a color analyst for ABC's Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecasts.
In 1966, Robinson was hired as general manager for the short-lived Brooklyn Dodgers of the Continental Football League. In 1972, he served as a part-time color commentator for the Montreal Expos telecasts.
On June 4, 1972, the Dodgers retired his uniform number, 42, alongside Roy Campanella (39) and Sandy Koufax (32).
From 1957-1964, Robinson became the first black person to serve as vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. Robinson always viewed his business career through the lens of advancing the cause of racial parity for African-Americans in commerce and industry.
Robinson was also chaired on the NAACP's million-dollar Freedom Fund Drive in 1957, and served on the organization's board until 1967.
In 1964, he helped found, with Harlem businessman Dunbar McLaurin, Freedom National Bank—a black-owned and operated commercial bank based in Harlem. [243]
He also served as the bank's first chairman of the board In 1970, Robinson established the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to build housing for low-income families.[243] [246]
Robinson was active participant in politics throughout his post-baseball life. He identified himself as a political independent, [247] [248] although he held conservative opinions on several issues, including the Vietnam War.
He once wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. in defense of the Johnson Administration's military policy. [249]
After supporting the Richard Nixon (R-CA) administration in the 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy, (D-MA). Robinson also praised Kennedy on several occasions for his commitment to civil rights. [250]
Robinson was angered by the 1964 presidential election candidacy of conservative Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, who had opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [251]
He became one of six national directors for Nelson Rockefeller's unsuccessful campaign to be nominated as the Republican candidate for the election.
After the party nominated Barry Goldwater instead, Robinson left the party's convention commenting that he now had "a better understanding of how it must have felt to be a Jew in Hitler's Germany”. [252]
He later became special assistant for community affairs when Nelson Rockefeller was re-elected as governor of New York in 1966 and in 1971 was appointed to the New York State Athletic Commission by Rockefeller. [243]
In 1968, he broke with the Republican party and supported Hubert Humphrey against Nixon in that year's presidential election.
Robinson protested against Major League Baseball’s ongoing lack of minority management and diversity in the leagues central office.
This fueled his motivation to reject an invitation to appear in the annual old-timers' game at Yankee Stadium in 1969.
He made his final public appearance on October 15, 1972, nine days before his death, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the 1972 World Series at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
He gratefully accepted a plaque honoring the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Major League debut, but also commented,
"I'm going to be tremendously more pleased and more proud when I look at that third base coaching line one day and see a black face managing in baseball."
This wish was only partially fulfilled during Robinson's lifetime in professional baseball.
His passing in 1974 prompted the Cleveland Indians to give their open managerial post to former Baltimore Orioles player, Frank Robinson, even though he had no relation to Jackie.
As future Hall of Famer, Frank Robinson would go on to manage for three other Major League teams in his 30 year career as a player and manager.
Despite the success of the Robinsons and other black players, the number of African-American players in Major League Baseball has declined since its peak in the 1970s.
players
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charleston played and managed in the Negro Leagues as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher. Charleston would later become manager of the Indianapolis Clowns.
Cool Papa Bell
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Cool Papa Bell played centerfield in the Negro Leagues from 1922 to 1946. played for the powerhouse Kansas City. Monarchs, Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Homestead Grays.
Buck Leonard
Oscar Charelston
Satchel Paige
Buck Leonard, along side Josh Gibson formed the best three-four, hitting tandem in the History of the Negro Leagues, leading the Homestead Grays to dominance.
Satchel Paige
Cumberland Posey
Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige began his 20 year career in the Negro Leagues pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts. He would later make his MLB debut at age 42 for the Cleveland Indians.
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Cum Posey was a veteran Negro Leagues team owner, player, and league executive. He is the founding member of two leagues, and a Hall of Fame Basketball player.
Jackie Robinson
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Jackie Robinson is the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He broke baseball's color barrier in 1945, by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella played one season in the Negro Leagues, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers just one season after Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball.
Gus Greenlee
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Gus Greenlee was a driving force behind the organization of the Negro National League I. During his time involved with Negro Leagues he owned several profitable side businesses.
Henry AAron
Roy Campanella
Candy Jim Taylor
Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in home runs with 755, few know Aaron began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues as a shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns.
Candy Jim Taylor
Cristóbal Torriente
Candy Jim Taylor
Candy Jim Taylor was a professional third baseman, manager, and brother of four professional playing Negro Leaguers. His career in baseball spanned over 40 years.
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente, often called the Babe Ruth of Cuba, played as an outfielder in the Negro Leagues from 1912-1932. He was most known for his incredible power to all fields.
Rube Foster
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Considered one of the best pitchers of the early 1900s, and perhaps the most influential figure in Negro League history, Rube Foster founded the NNLI and managed the Chicago American Giants.
Larry Doby
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Larry Doby was the second African-American baseball player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player to play in the American League.
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
From the catcher position, Josh Gibson's display of power during his career for the Homestead Grays is legendary. However, Gibson would never play Major League Baseball.
Sol White
Josh Gibson
Ben Taylor
King Solomon "Sol" White played baseball professionally as an infielder, manager and league executive. White is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Negro Leagues.
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Born in July 1888, Ben Taylor was the youngest of 4 professional Negro Leaguers, including Candy Jim Taylor, C.I. Taylor, and Johnny Steel Arm Taylor.
Biz Mackey
Ben Taylor
Biz Mackey
Biz Mackey was regarded as one of the Negro Leagues premier offensive and defensive catchers, playing across several leagues from late 1920s and early 1930s.
Nat Strong
Ben Taylor
Biz Mackey
Nathaniel Strong was a Negro Leagues sports executive, businessman, team owner and founding member of the Negro National League I,
Monte Irvin
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Monte Irvin flourished as one of the early African-American players in MLB, making 2 World Series appearances for the New York Giants, playing along side Willie Mays.
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Norman Turkey Stearnes played professionally in the Negro Leagues, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Willie Mays
Turkey Stearnes
Steel Arm Taylor
A can’t miss five-tool player, Mays began his professional baseball career with the Black Barons, spending the rest of his career playing MLB for the Giants and Mets.
Steel Arm Taylor
Steel Arm Taylor
Steel Arm Taylor
John Boyce Steel Arm Taylor was the second oldest of 4 professional Negro Leaguers, the others being Charles, Ben and James. For the 1899-1900 seasons, Taylor won 90% games as a starting pitcher for the Giants.
Buck O'neil
Steel Arm Taylor
Martín Dihigo
Buck O’Neil joined the Memphis Red Sox for their inaugural season in the newly formed Negro American League. However, his contract was purchased by the Kansas City Monarchs the next season.
Martín Dihigo
Steel Arm Taylor
Martín Dihigo
Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos called The Immortal, was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played in the Negro Leagues and Latin American leagues from 1923 to 1936.