Jackie Robinson was born into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia in 1919. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Pasadena, California.
At John Muir High School, Robinson played several sports at the varsity level, and lettered in football, basketball, track, and baseball. He was also a member of the tennis team.
Later, at Pasadena Junior College he excelled in, not surprisingly, the same four sports. After graduation he attended UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles), where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in football, basketball, track, and baseball.
Although baseball was his "worst sport" at UCLA, after a few years working in the California community and serving in the military, Robinson went on to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues in 1945, with the Kansas City Monarchs.
On April 15, 1947, he became the first Black man to play Major League Baseball in the modern era, when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers.
This ended racial segregation that had relegated Black players to the Negro Leagues for six decades.
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To read the incredible exploits of Jackie Robinson's life and times, please Google search his name and read the related entries.
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