Jack (Jackie) Roosevelt Robinson, born on Jan. 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. However, he was so much more than that. He stood up for equal rights.Â
Before joining the major leagues, he served in the Army, where he was then arrested and tried by the military court for refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus. He was found not guilty but received an honorable discharge.Â
When he started his professional baseball career, he originally played shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. That was until the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers reached out to him and told him he would integrate the white major leagues.Â
In 1946, he joined the Montreal Royals and led the International League with a .349 average and 40 stolen bases. This was when he got a promotion to the Dodgers and made a National League debut on April 15, 1947, as their first baseman.Â
After his first season, he was the winner of the inaugural Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Rookie of the Year Award. Two years later, he was named National League MVP in 1949, as he was batting .342 and had 37 steals, as well as 124 RBI. The Dodgers won six pennants within their 10 seasons and won the World Series title in 1955.Â
Robinson ended up retiring with a .313 batting average, had 972 runs scored, over 1500 hits, and 200 stolen bases! However, he continued to be a part of the game by being an announcer. In 1962, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Here are his overall average stats:
- Games played: 1,416
- At bats: 4,997
- Hits: 1,563
- Walks: 756
- Runs: 972
- Doubles: 286
- Triples: 55
- Home Runs: 141
- Runs Batted in (RBI): 761
- Stolen bases: 200
- Batting average: .313
- On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .887
- On Base %: .410Â
- Slugging %: .477
After he retired from playing baseball, he not only became an announcer, but he also became a leader in the Civil Rights movement. Unlike a lot of celebrities, he used his fame to further human rights and look for change.Â
In 1964, he co-founded Freedom National Bank of Harlem, a black-owned bank that financially aided African Americans.
In 1970, he founded the Jackie Robinson Construction Company, which provided low-income individuals with housing.
In 1972, at the age of 53, Jackie Robinson unfortunately died from a combination of heart disease and diabetes after suffering a heart attack.Â
References:
‌