Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919. His father left his family when he was 1 years old. His mother worked hard to support the family and she was the most important person in his life. After Jackie graduated from high school he decided to go to Pasadena Junior College. After a few years Jackie decided to stay at home and go to the UCLA. He wanted to stay near his brother and the rest of his family.
He was thinking of his future and felt it would be easier to get a job after school if he built his reputation at home. He became the first athlete in history at UCLA to get letters from four different sports in one year. Jackie decided to leave school in his senior year.
He wanted to get a job and help take care of his mother. When he left UCLA the sports paper said that he was the best all-round athlete ever to play on the West Coast, the best all-round athlete in America, and the best black athlete of all time. In 1942, he entered the army. He received an honorable discharge from the army in 1944, and then joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. In February 1946, Jackie and Rachel Isum were married at a large church wedding in Los Angeles. On April 15, 1947, he played his first game in the major leagues in Ebbets Field, the Dodgers" home stadium. Jackie was the first black player to play in the major league. Fans yelled insults, pitchers threw balls at his head, but he hung in there. He was breaking the color barrier all alone, and he felt very sad and lonely. In 1949, he won the National League batting championship and was voted the league's Most Valuable Player. At this time, nearly every major league team had at least one black player. In 1957, he retired from baseball. After living under racial prejudice his whole life he felt he had helped improve conditions for blacks in baseball. Jackie Robinson played in the major leagues for only ten years.
