Early Life Jackie Robinson was born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia and was named Jack Roosevelt Robinson. His family moved to Pasadena, California just after he was born. He had 3 brothers and one sister and was the youngest of the five children. Even though they lived in a wealthy community, the family was relatively poor.
Robinson attended high school in California, where he played baseball and tennis. In high school, he earned a spot on the Pomona Annual Baseball Tournament All-Star Team. With him on this team was Ted Williams and Bob Lemon, who both would eventually be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In tennis, Robinson also won the junior boys singles championship in the Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament. Jackie Robinson went to UCLA and became the first 4 letter athlete at the institution. He was signed to play semi pro football in 1941 and was playing in Honolulu just days before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. In April of 1942, Jackie Robinson was drafted into the Army. He was first assigned to a Cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas in a segregated unit. After boxing champion Joe Louis protested the fact that black soldiers were not allowed in Office Candidate School (OCS), Robinson was elevated to second lieutenant in 1943. Robinson's military career was stopped after he refused to sit in the back of an unsegregated bus and military police arrested him. Robinson later stood trial in Court-martial proceedings. He was acquitted and was given an honorable discharge in 1944. (Biography.com/Jackie Robinson) (Mentalfloss/42factsaboutjackierobinson)
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