Jackie Robinson was born here on January 31, 1919 before he and his family moved to California in 1920. After attending U.C.L.A., serving in the U.S. Army, and playing in the Negro American Baseball and International Leagues, he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, breaking major league baseball’s color barrier. Beyond his many sports accomplishments, he served as special assistant to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, established the first African American Modern Bank/Freedom National Bank, and provided housing for the underprivileged through his construction firm. He died in 1972, and the house burned in 1996.