CR164

​1952-1958 Jackie Robinson Business Card

Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson was born in 1919 to his mother Mallie Robinson who raised Jackie and his four siblings by herself. They were the only African American family on their block so he began to experience prejudice very early on in life. After highschool Jackie attended UCLA and was the first athlete to earn varsity letters in four different sports; baseball, basketball, football, and track. Due to financial reasons Jackie had to leave college and decided to join the army. In 1945,  after leaving the army, Jackie played in the Negro Baseball League and in 1947 Branch Rickey approached Jackie about joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie's involvement with the Dodgers not only desegregated baseball, but his nonviolent character also greatly influenced the civil rights movement. Today, April 15th is observed as Jackie Robinson Day throughout Major League Baseball and all players recognize it by wearing Jackies’ number, 42.  It’s celebrated on April 15th because that’s the day Jackie started at first base for the Dodgers for the very first time in 1947. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired the number across all major league teams.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson and https://www.jackierobinson.com/biography/ and https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/jackie-robinson
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