Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, raised Jackie and her four other children on her own. They were the only black family on their block, and therefore encountered a great deal of racial prejudices. For a man coming from a poor family of sharecroppers, his beginning, would help him become the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier that segregated major league baseball for many decades.
Robinson excelled early at all sports and learned to make his own way in life. While at UCLA, Jackie Robinson became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. In 1941, he was named to the All-American football team. Robinson was unable to complete his college education due to financial problems, so he then went on and enlisted into the U.S. Army. After two years in the army, he had become second lieutenant. His army career was not long due to accusations that he made about being to racially discriminated led to him having to leave with an honorable discharge. .
In 1945, there were barely any respectable career opportunities open to black individuals, whether they were educated or not. So, Jackie decided to play one season in the Negro Baseball League, and traveled all over the Midwest with the Kansas City Monarchs. In 1947, an important time in history occurred. Jackie Robinson was drafted by the coach of the Brooklyn Dodger, a team part of white baseball, and helped integrate black and white baseball together. He broke the colour barrier in baseball by being the first African American to play in white baseball. By doing the latter, Jackie challenged the custom of racial segregation in both the North and the South. .
By 1947, the end of Jackie's first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he became Rookie of the Year with twelve home runs, a impressive twenty nine steals (something no one had managed to do before him) and a .
