The man who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier—absorbing every indignity the country could throw at him and never throwing one back.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. A four-sport athlete at UCLA, he became the first Black player in Major League Baseball when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Branch Rickey had selected him precisely because Robinson could endure racist abuse without retaliation—a constraint that required extraordinary self-control, not weakness. He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award, a batting title, the MVP Award in 1949, and six World Series appearances, winning in 1955. After retiring in 1956 he became an active civil rights leader, joining the NAACP board and speaking out on housing discrimination and voter registration. He died of a heart attack on October 24, 1972, at 53. His number, 42, is retired across all of Major League Baseball.
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
“I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me. All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”
Desegregated America's pastime by absorbing hatred with grace, opening the door for every Black athlete who followed and accelerating the broader civil rights movement.
Every life deserves to be remembered. Start capturing stories, photos, and memories today.
Start for Free →No credit card required