Jackie Robinson

1
Jackie Robinson

• By Dan Skoglund

2
Early Years

• Born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia.
• Youngest of five children of Jerry and Mallie
  Robinson. 
• Attended UCLA for his college education in 1939.
• While at UCLA, Jackie lettered in football,
  baseball, basketball and track.
• Enlists into the United States Army in 1942.

3
Early Years of Baseball Career

• Robinson begins to play with the Kansas City
  Monarchs of the American Negro League in 1945. 
• Later in 1945, Robinson signs a contract to play
  in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.

4
Highlights of Jackie with the Dodgers

• Wins the Rookie of the Year Award in 1947
• Voted National League MVP in 1949
• Retires from baseball in 1957 after helping the
  dodgers win six pennants and one world series
• Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. 
•        

5
Life After Baseball

• In 1957, Robinson became vice president of Chock
  Full O Nuts, a coffee and restaurant chain. 
• He later co-founded Freedom National Bank of
  Harlem, where he served as the chairman of the
  board from 1964 to 1972. 

6
Civil Rights

• Starting in 1957, Robinson traveled throughout
  the country to raise funds for the NAACP. 
• His efforts through the NAACP led him to a close
  relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King and
  other civil right leaders

7
Politics

• Robinsons concern with politics led him to
  influence leaders such as Dwight Eisenhower,
  Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy,
  and Nelson Rockefeller. 
• He was appointed to special assistant of
  community affairs in Rockefellers campaign in
  the 1964 presidential election. 

8
Later Years

• Died October 24, 1972 in Stamford, Connecticut
•  The Jackie Robinson Foundation, which was
  founded by Mrs. Rachel Robinson, helps keep
  Jackies spirit alive, by supporting college
  bound minority and poor young people seeking to
  develop their potential
•   Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie
  Robinsons 50th anniversary of breaking the color
  barrier, by retiring his number 42 in 1997

9
Why a Hero to Me?

• Jackie Robinson is a hero to me strictly because
  he embodies the words courage and unselfishness. 
  He had the courage to ignore the insults and
  other acts of racism that he met throughout his
  baseball career.  He was a total selfless person,
  who was thinking of an entire race, not of
  himself.  He was admired by millions of people of
  many races for his talent, but also more for his
  character.  His goals in life were to better the
  lives of others, especially minorities. 

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Robinson Photos
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12
Quotes

• "A life is not important except in the impact it
  has on other lives.- Jackie Robinson

"He struck a mighty blow for equality, freedom
and the American way of life. Jackie Robinson was
a good citizen, a great man, and a true American
champion."-- Ronald Reagan, Presidential Medal
of Freedom ceremony, 1986