Jackie RobinsonJackie Robinson

How Influential Was How Influential Was Jackie Robinson in the Jackie Robinson in the Civil Rights MovementCivil Rights Movement

• Ken Burns Baseball Soundtrack Track 16 Kansas City Call

• Ken Burns Baseball Soundtrack Track 20 Did you See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball

Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That BallDid You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball ? ?((Words and music by Woodrow Buddy Johnson, June 1949)Words and music by Woodrow Buddy Johnson, June 1949)

Did you see Jackie Robinson hit that ball?It went zoom in cross the left field wall.Yeah boy, yes, yes. Jackie hit that ball.And when he swung his bat,the crowd went wild,because he knocked that ball a solid mile.Yeah boy, yes, yes. Jackie hit that ball.Satchel Page [i.e., Paige] is mellow,So is Campanella,Newcombe and Doby, too.But it's a natural fact,when Jackie comes to bat,the other team is through.Did you see Jackie Robinson hit that ball?Did he hit it boy, and that ain't all.He stole home.Yes, yes, Jackie's real gone

Jackie’s YouthJackie’s Youth

• Born: January 31, 1919 Cairo Georgia• Jerry Robinson (Father) was making $12 a

month as a sharecropper• Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the fifth child in

the Robinson family• His family was poor.

Jerry Robinson DisappearsJerry Robinson Disappears

• When Jackie was 16 months old, his father said he was going to Memphis is search for a job

– Jerry Robinson never returned

• Mallie (Mother) moved the family to Pasadena Cal. where her brother in law, Uncle Burton, lived.

“Even before I went to high school and college I resolve not to take insults without retaliating. Growing up in Pasadena, I encountered many situations which I considered unjust. I remember going to the YMCA and being told that Negroes were allowed to use the facilities of the YMCA only on a certain day of the week…”

- Jackie Robinson

UCLAUCLA• Jackie had trouble in school, but ended up going to

UCLA – He played football, baseball, track and field, and

basketball.• 1939: enters UCLA on athletic scholarship• First student to earn 4 varsity letters in one year

– National champion in long jump– Highest scorer in the pacific coast conference

in basketball – All-American football running back until his

eligibility expired• Performed better in track, basketball, and football

than in baseball

After UCLAAfter UCLA

• 1941: Joined an intergraded semi-pro football league – Honolulu Bears– He played a game at Pearl

Harbor and left 2 days before the Japanese attacked

• 1942: Drafted to the Army– Stationed at fort Riley in

Kansas

As a Professional As a Professional AthleteAthlete

Kansas City MonarchsKansas City Monarchs• 1945: Robinson released

from the Army and joined the Negro Baseball league

• Negro League Team in the NNL

• Robinson made $400 a month

• Jackie played 47 games (1 season):– 163 at bats– 5 home runs– .387 batting average– 13 stolen bases

The Major LeaguesThe Major Leagues• Branch Rickey: President

of the Brooklyn Dodgers

– Wanted to bring the ideal black player into the MLB

• August 28,1945: Jackie Robinson was interviewed by Branch Rickey

• Jackie showed that he had the character along with his baseball talent– Rickey wanted a player

who was strong enough not to fight back

• October 23,1945: Signs with Montreal Royals, a Dodgers farm team

“I cannot face my God much longer knowing that his black creatures are held separate and distinct from his white creatures in the game that has given me all that I can call my own”

-Branch Rickey

Spring Training with the DodgersSpring Training with the Dodgers

• Spring 1947: Jackie goes to Cuba with the rest of the Brooklyn Dodgers

– Several Dodger players signed a petition refusing to play

– This petition was quickly put down by Branch Rickey who threatened to fire all protesting players.

Breaking the Color BarrierBreaking the Color Barrier

April 1947: Major League debut as Dodgers first baseman wearing #42

Being Bigger Than LifeBeing Bigger Than Life• Received racial threats from white fans and players

– Fans threw trash on him– Opposing pitchers hit him purposely while

players spiked him with their cleats– Teammates petitioned to get Jackie off the

Dodgers – Players expected him to carry their bags and

shine their shoes• Robinson family received many death threats• Had to obey segregation laws

– Rode in back of team bus– Had to enter restaurants through black entrances

while rest of team went through the front

Threats Target RobinsonThreats Target Robinson

Becoming an Becoming an IdolIdol

• Jackie excelled for the Dodgers

• Never started any fights or said anything about all the abuse he received

• Blacks saw Jackie as a hero – Eventually, even

whites began to see Jackie as a heroic figure

• Became a symbol in American society

Respect from his TeammatesRespect from his Teammates

I started the season as a lonely man, often feeling like a black Don Quixote tilting at a lot of white windmills. I ended it feeling like a member of a solid team. -- Jackie Robinson

Jackie’s Popularity RisesJackie’s Popularity Rises

Life Magazine 1951

Gaining Respect from WhitesGaining Respect from Whites

Jackie Gains RespectJackie Gains Respect

Jackie Steals Home in World SeriesJackie Steals Home in World Series

Career StatisticsCareer Statistics• Batting Average: .311• Hits: 1518• Homeruns: 137• First Game: April 15, 1947• Final Game: September 30, 1956• 1947: National League rookie of

the year• 1949: National League MVP• 6 time All-Star

The Hall of FameThe Hall of Fame

• 1962: Inducted into Hall of Fame

• Inducted on first ballot – 124 votes out of 160

ballots (77.5%)

New Hopes for Black PeopleNew Hopes for Black People

• Jackie Robinsons success in the major leagues:– Proved that blacks could succeed in America

– Democracy became more meaningful to blacks

– Increased respect for blacks

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

-Jackie Robinson

Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackie Robinson before a press conference in NYC

Civil Rights in BaseballCivil Rights in Baseball

• 1972: Jackie Criticizes baseball for having no black manager– Two years later baseball has its first black

manager• 1974: Frank Robinson with the Cleveland

Indians

Jackie’s LegacyJackie’s Legacy

The Jackie Robinson FoundationThe Jackie Robinson Foundation

• Created in 1973 by Rachel Robinson

• Gives minority youth scholarships to attend college– Jackie Robinson Scholars

• Each scholar is also given:– $7,200 in financial support– Mentors– summer internships and permanent jobs

• 266 Scholars attending 93 colleges across the United States

Jackie Robinson FieldJackie Robinson Field

• Home of UCLA baseball• 27 seasons since the field was made• A private gift from Hoyt Pardee, an old classmate of

Jackie Robinson – UCLA ’41

The Jackie Robinson AwardThe Jackie Robinson Award

• Rookie of the Year Award

• 1987: became known as The Jackie Robinson Award

6060thth Anniversary Anniversary

• April 15, 2007

• Over 200 players wore #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson– Every member of the Dodgers wore #42

To Be ConsideredTo Be Considered

Although Jackie Robinson was more

active and affective as a political activist,

would he have been as successful if he

was not a superior athlete?

The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time.

-- Jackie Robinson

• Ken Burn’s Baseball Soundtrack Track 27 Jackie Robinson Eulogy

• On October 27, 1972, the Reverend Jesse Jackson gave a simple, but powerful eulogy to help put into words what Jackie Robinson's life meant.

• Today we must balance the tears of sorrow with the tears of joy. Mix the bitter with the sweet in death and life.Jackie as a figure in history was a rock in the water, creating concentric circles and ripples of new possibility. He was medicine. He was immunized by God from catching the diseases that he fought. The Lord's arms of protection enabled him to go through dangers seen and unseen, and he had the capacity to wear glory with grace. Jackie's body was a temple of God. An instrument of peace. We would watch him disappear into nothingness and stand back as spectators, and watch the suffering from afar.The mercy of God intercepted this process Tuesday and permitted him to steal away home, where referees are out of place, and only the supreme judge of the universe speaks.