Jackie Robinson was born on January 31 1919. He lived with five other siblings that were all older then him and was raised by a single mother. Even though he was poor growing up, he was a great athletically. In fact, Jackie Robinson played 4 sports, football, baseball, track, and basketball. He even won a silver medal in the 200 meter race at the Berlin olympic. But still before he played baseball, he played semiprofessional football. The team he played for was the Honolulu Bears.

Unfortunately, he was drafted into the amy in World War 2. Robinson never fought in a battle though because he did not want to sit at the end of a segregated bus. So when he was kicked out of the army in 1944, he played in the negro leagues of baseball.

But, when the Brooklyn Dodgers vice president Branch Rickey saw him, he was chosen to play for their minor league team, the Royals. Robinson's first game with the Royals was on March 17 1946.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first black person to play in the major leagues. He had to put up with lots of racism though. This was tough for Robinson but in his first year, he had a .342 batting average and led the league in stolen bases and became the MVP.

Robinson played for the Dodgers for ten years, They won the world series once and won the pennant several times. He retired on January 5, 1957 with a 311 batting average.

In 1962, he was inducted into the hall of fame and the Dodgers retired his number in 1972. That same year, Robinson died of heart problems on October 24, 1972.

He paved the way for African American baseball players.

Background: Adam, UK
Research: Joseph, USA

Jackie Robinson Biography (1919 - 1972). Bio True Story. 28 Jan. 2009 <www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9460813>

Photo: <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jrobinson.jpg> {{PD-Look}} Photo by Bob Sandberg, 1954. Published in PLOOK, v. 19, no. 4, 1955 Feb. 22, p. 78. Library of Congress Reproduction Number: LC-L9-54-3566-O, #7)