Jackie Robinson
Today marks what would have been the 100th birthday of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.
He was born Jack Roosevelt Robinson on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia to a family of share croppers. He was given the middle name “Roosevelt” in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, who had died 25 days before he was born. The youngest of five children, Robinson was not the only gifted athlete in his family. His brother, Matthew “Mack” Robinson was an accomplished track and field athlete who won the silver medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He came in right behind Jesse Owens.
In 1947, Robinson made history when he broke the baseball color barrier and joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black athlete to play Major League Baseball. He made his major league debut on April 15, 1947. Throughout his baseball career, Robinson played in six World Series, but only won one. In 1972, the Dodgers retired Robinson’s uniform number 42 and in 1997, the MLB retired his uniform number across all major league teams. Today the MLB celebrates April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day and players wear No. 42 in his honor.
Jackie Robinson is not yet connected to Geni’s World Family Tree. Perhaps you can help expand his family tree and connect him to over 128 million people on Geni!
View Jackie Robinson’s Geni Profile
iframe{ border: 1px solid #999; }
Image: Library of Congress
Source: Geni.com
Be First to Comment