Baseball Legend

As a gifted UCLA athlete, Jackie Robinson played in all four of the so called major sports. Ironically, he was a star in all except baseball, and yet baseball was the sport that would immortalize him. In 1945, Jackie Robinson played his rookie year in the Negro Baseball League with the Kansas City Monarchs, batting .387. In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey approached Jackie to determine whether he had the courage and character necessary to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson’s fiercely competitive nature, his will to win, and the support of his wife, Rachel Robinson, provided the foundation for his brilliant career. His legacy continues to be an inspiration to athletes and people of all colors. In 1947, he was Rookie of the Year, later renamed the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award, and he led the National League with 29 stolen bases. In 1949, he was National League Most Valuable Player and hitting leader with a .342 batting average, 37 stolen bases, and 124 runs. Jackie Robinson appeared in six All-Star games and six World Series with the Dodgers. In 1962, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1997, fifty years after he became the first player, Major League Baseball retired his number 42, the first number to be retired by every team.

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