Jackie Robinson became the first African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on this day in 1962. Born in Georgia in 1919, he spent his childhood in Pasadena, Calif., and attended the University of California Los Angeles, where he excelled at several sports, including football, basketball, track and field, and baseball. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II but was court martialed, acquitted, and honorably discharged after he refused to move to the back of a segregated army bus.
He was recruited to play with the Kansas City Monarchs, a team that played baseball in the Negro leagues in 1945. Later that year he was offered a spot in the minor leagues on the Montreal Royals, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1947, he broke the color barrier by becoming the first African American to play in the major leagues. He was subjected to constant, nasty insults and harassment, but his talent spoke for itself, especially when he earned the MLB Rookie of the Year Award in his first season.
That same season, he'd become the first Black player in the World Series. In 1949, he was given the National League's Most Valuable Player Award and would later be the first Black player to play in the All-Star Game. Then, in 1955, the Dodgers won the world series, giving Robinson his only championship. He retired in 1957 and became an executive at the Chock full o'Nuts company (like the snack) and became a notable civil rights activist. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible.
You can read more about Robinson on the website of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
