Jackie Robinson’s Timeline

On January 31, 1919 Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia

1920 – His mother decided to leave Georgia and moved to Pasadena, California where Jackie was raised

1937 – He enrolled in Pasadena Junior College

1939 – Robinson entered the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), lettering in four sports

1940 – Jackie Robinson won the NCAA broad jump title

1941 – Played professional football for the Honolulu Bears, a semi-professional football team

1942 – Jackie Robinson was drafted into the Army

1943 – Private Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant

1944 – He was honourably discharged in November 1944 following an ankle injury

1945 – Robinson begins baseball career with Kansas City Monarchs, a negro team and was then recruited by Branch Rickey to play for minor league Montreal Royals

1946 – Robinson married Rachel Isum, a nursing student he had met at UCLA

1947 – Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier becoming the first black player on major league team (Brooklyn Dodgers). Despite considerable racial abuse, Jackie was named 'Rookie of the Year' and featured on the cover of Time magazine

1949 – Named the National League's Most Valuable Player

1956 – Jackie Robinson he was traded to the New York Giants, but decides to retire from major league baseball

1950's & 1960's – He became a vocal supporter of Martin Luther King Jr. and the NAACP

1962 – Robinson inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

October 24, 1972 – Jackie Robinson died of a heart attack (aged 53) in Stamford, Connecticut

 

Jackie Robinson news reel footage:

 

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