Sports Heroes
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was the first African-American player in Major League Baseball
in modern times. Some people make the mistake of thinking that Robinson was
the very first African-American to ever play professional baseball, but that is not
true. Segregation of the races in baseball began in the 1880s. Therefore, when
Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he ended 60 years of racial
separation in the sport. He broke what is called “the color barrier” in baseball,
making it possible for other African-American athletes to eventually join Major
League Baseball.
Although Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball, it would
be a mistake to believe that this single event solved all of the problems with
racism in the United States. Indeed, many Americans did not believe that it was
appropriate for him to play baseball, even when he was breaking records. The
truth is that during this period of American history, white people and AfricanAmericans were still kept separate in much of their day-to-day lives. However,
despite the obstacles and the racial problems that persisted, Robinson had an
unusually successful baseball career.
Early Life
Jackie Robinson was born the youngest of five children in Cairo, Georgia, in the United States. He was born
in 1919, in the midst of two epidemics — smallpox and the Spanish flu — which were afflicting hundreds of
people in the region. His name at birth was Jack Roosevelt Robinson; his middle name was given in honor of
President Theodore Roosevelt, who had died only 25 days before Robinson was born.
In 1920, Robinson’s father abandoned the family, forcing them to move across the United States to Pasadena,
California. Because his mother was the sole provider for the family, Robinson and his brothers and sister
grew up without much money. While still young, Robinson joined a local gang. However, his good friend Carl
Anderson convinced him to leave the gang before long.
In 1935, Robinson enrolled in high school, where he played several sports, including football, baseball, track,
and basketball. He excelled in all four of these sports, helping lead his teams to win championships in several
of them. After high school, Robinson matriculated into Pasadena Junior College, where his sports career
continued. Despite being arrested for reasons that were never made clear, Robinson did very well in the sports
he played in college.
Robinson soon transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA, he won honors in
all four of the sports he played, which were the same four he played in high school. This remarkable honor
was unique to Robinson; he is to date the only athlete at UCLA to win honors in four sports. Because of his
unusually successful sports career, Robinson was offered a job with the federal government’s National Youth
Administration in 1941. He quit UCLA with one semester remaining in order to take the job. However, his sports
career was soon interrupted by the United States joining World War II.
Robinson joined the U.S. Army, where he became an officer. He was assigned to a combat unit, but then, while
training, he had an altercation on an army bus that changed his army experience completely. Robinson was
(continued on next page)
Time_________
Level: 12.8
Lexile®: 1060L
Word Count: 965
Reading Library
103
Sports Heroes
Jackie Robinson (continued)
instructed by the driver to go to the back of the bus, but he refused. When the military police arrived, Robinson
was arrested. The process of going to trial for a crime that he did not commit took a long time, and, by the time
the military court decided he was innocent, Robinson’s combat unit had joined the war. In fact, Robinson’s unit
was the first group of black soldiers to join the combat, but he was unable to join them overseas.
Baseball Career
After the war ended, Robinson joined a baseball league that was solely
for African-Americans. Before long, the Brooklyn Dodgers invited him to
play with them. They had spent some time watching Robinson and found
that not only was he a great baseball player, he was a man who would
remain calm when people’s hatred was expressed. Robinson played for
the Dodgers’ training teams for some time before he was finally called up
to play his first professional game on April 15, 1947. For that game, over
14,000 of the 26,623 people watching were African-Americans.
In that game, Robinson did not even get on base, but the Dodgers won.
Much of America debated the issue of a black man playing professional
baseball, and there existed quite a bit of opposition to such a thing. However, the Dodgers fans, in general,
accepted him. Some of his teammates, on the other hand, objected to having an African-American play with
them. Before a major problem could ensue, the manager of the Dodgers told the team members that if they did
not want to play with Robinson, the manager would make sure they were kicked off of the team.
In 1947, Robinson began playing like the superstar he would become. He was the leader in stolen bases, hit
nearly 30 percent of the balls pitched at him, and won the first-ever Rookie of the Year award. In 1948, he played
well also but had an injury that hindered him. In that same year, a few other African-Americans started playing
professional baseball.
The year 1949 was a breakout year for Robinson. He won the Most Valuable Player award, was the leader in
batting average, and stole 37 bases. A song was written about him. He even starred in a movie about himself!
The following years continued to be successful for Robinson, as he soon started earning more money than any
other player on the Dodgers. In 1955, he helped the Dodgers win the world championship.
In 1962, Jackie Robinson was honored by being the first African-American to ever be voted into the Baseball Hall
of Fame.
Answer comprehension questions on page 213-214.
104
Reading Library
Time_________
Level: 12.8
Lexile®: 1060L
Word Count: 965