More than just a number
On April 12th of this year, the film "42" opens. It is a biopic of Jackie Robinson and how he broke the color barrier in Major League baseball. It is a narrowly focused look at a fairly brief period in his life.
It would take a mini-series, or several films to tell all of the story of Jackie Robinson and to detail all that he achieved in his life. Born in Georgia, his mother moved her family to Pasadena after Jackie's father abandoned them while he was less than two years of age.
He was encouraged by his older brothers to pursue sports (his brother Mack won a silver medal in the 200 meter run at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, finishing just behind Jesse Owens) and he was a five sport star at John Muir High. Baseball, basketball, football, track and even tennis.
He became the first athlete of any race to win letters in four sports at UCLA. He was drafted after Pearl Harbor and ended up going to Officer Candidates School. Following graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant; but an incident involving segregation on a bus derailed his military career. He was court-martialed by racist commanders, but an all-white jury of officers acquitted him. However, that prevented him from going to Europe and seeing combat with his unit.
He became athletic director at Sam Houston College but was offered a job in professional baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945. It was while playing with the Monarchs that he was approached by the Brooklyn Dodgers about possibly becoming the first "Negro" to play in the major leagues.
The rest of his story in baseball is well-known. He was one of the game's greats, playing ten years for the Dodgers and then retiring rather than being forced to don the uniform of their hated rivals, the New York Giants. But there is so much more to the story of Jackie Robinson. He became the first black baseball commentator on television broadcasts. He was general manager of a football team in a short-lived league. He helped to found a bank. He was the first black to be vice-president of a major corporation. He chaired a fund-raising drive by the NAACP trying to raise $1 million in 1957 and served on the organization's board. He founded a construction company that was designed to build housing for low-income families.
He wore the number "42" on his uniform. Today he is so revered by baseball that no one will ever again wear 42, except one day a season. On that day, every player in baseball wears that number, as it is Jackie Robinson day. The awards for rookie of the year in both leagues is named the Jackie Robinson Award.
Jackie Robinson died in 1972 from complications of heart disease and diabetes. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
It would take a mini-series, or several films to tell all of the story of Jackie Robinson and to detail all that he achieved in his life. Born in Georgia, his mother moved her family to Pasadena after Jackie's father abandoned them while he was less than two years of age.
He was encouraged by his older brothers to pursue sports (his brother Mack won a silver medal in the 200 meter run at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, finishing just behind Jesse Owens) and he was a five sport star at John Muir High. Baseball, basketball, football, track and even tennis.
He became the first athlete of any race to win letters in four sports at UCLA. He was drafted after Pearl Harbor and ended up going to Officer Candidates School. Following graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant; but an incident involving segregation on a bus derailed his military career. He was court-martialed by racist commanders, but an all-white jury of officers acquitted him. However, that prevented him from going to Europe and seeing combat with his unit.
He became athletic director at Sam Houston College but was offered a job in professional baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945. It was while playing with the Monarchs that he was approached by the Brooklyn Dodgers about possibly becoming the first "Negro" to play in the major leagues.
The rest of his story in baseball is well-known. He was one of the game's greats, playing ten years for the Dodgers and then retiring rather than being forced to don the uniform of their hated rivals, the New York Giants. But there is so much more to the story of Jackie Robinson. He became the first black baseball commentator on television broadcasts. He was general manager of a football team in a short-lived league. He helped to found a bank. He was the first black to be vice-president of a major corporation. He chaired a fund-raising drive by the NAACP trying to raise $1 million in 1957 and served on the organization's board. He founded a construction company that was designed to build housing for low-income families.
He wore the number "42" on his uniform. Today he is so revered by baseball that no one will ever again wear 42, except one day a season. On that day, every player in baseball wears that number, as it is Jackie Robinson day. The awards for rookie of the year in both leagues is named the Jackie Robinson Award.
Jackie Robinson died in 1972 from complications of heart disease and diabetes. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
posted by me at 3:28 PM
<< Home