The star who changed American sport forever
‘I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me . . . all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.’
JACKIE ROBINSON
Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 in Georgia, USA. He was one of five children and, while Robinson was still a baby, his father left the family to fend for themselves. His mother took the children to Pasadena in California and, although they lived in a respectable neighbourhood, the family lived in poverty. The stark difference between the Robinsons’ economic fortunes and those of the families around them left them isolated socially and prevented the children from taking part in activities other youngsters in the neighbourhood enjoyed without a second thought.
Like many children who are forced to live in cruel and difficult circumstances and rejected by their peers, the young Jackie Robinson almost fell under the influence of a local gang. Thankfully, a good friend talked him out of the lifestyle and kept him on the straight and narrow.
Jackie had a natural talent for sport. Indeed, it ran in the family. His brother Mack won a 200 metres silver medal in the 1936 Olympics in Germany, losing only to the great US champion Jesse Owens. Robinson competed in a range of sports at high school and college including tennis, American football, athletics, basketball and baseball.
When his closest brother, Frank, was killed in a road accident, Robinson decided to attend the University of California (Los Angeles). His decision was motivated by the fact the university was close to the family of his deceased brother. It was here where Robinson chose to focus on sport. His efforts paid off and he won varsity letters (this is a system in the US that recognises a student excelling in a certain area) in four sports: baseball, athletics, American football and basketball. No other student at the college had ever managed this. Ironically, his performances in baseball were arguably the least impressive.
It looked at first as if Robinson would settle on American football, but when the Second World War broke out he served in the army and his sporting dreams were put on hold. During his time in the forces he showed his willingness to stand up against injustice. One fateful day, Robinson refused to move to the back of a bus when ordered to do so by the driver on the basis of his colour. At the time it was law that white passengers had priority during travel over non-whites. One of Robinson’s commanders, looking to teach him a lesson, tried to charge him with being drunk, even though he didn’t actually touch alcohol. Eventually, Robinson was rightly cleared of all charges. Sadly, however, it was a sign of the world he had to live in: one in which his skin colour would be used against him time and time again.
Early days of professionalism
After the war, Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team who played in the Negro leagues. These were leagues made up of teams of African Americans and, sometimes, Latin Americans. Such competitions came into existence because of the ‘baseball colour line’. This was an ‘agreement’ from late in the nineteenth century, never formally written down, that no black players would be allowed to play Major League Baseball or in its rel
