Jackie Robinson - Biography (1991)

[Pompeii]

Jackie Robinson - Biography (1991)

 

Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.[2] Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947.[3] When the Dodgers signed Robinson, they heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.[4] Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.[5]

Robinson had an exceptional 10-year MLB career. He was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored.[6][7] Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.

In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.