This is a Jackie Robinson Biography by Jacob Gryn

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919. He had his childhood in a prejudiced neighborhood receiving death threats (and threats to burn their house) to move, but his mother resisted and never gave in. She never resorted to mean remarks or anything of that sort. This was an inspiration for him to later break the racial barrier in Major League Baseball and to be the first African American to be in the Major Leagues.

When Jack (AKA Jackie) was a child, his mom and his three brothers and one sister lived in Cairo, Georgia. His father, Jerry, abandoned them. They had to resort to sharecropping on Jim Sasser's Farm. The bad conditions (when Jack was a baby) on the farm were made worst Sasser who put the blame on Jacks mom, Mallie McGriff Robinson, for Jack's fathers leaving. Mallie decided to leave and boarded what she called the "freedom train" (she explained it like that to her children) with her family, to Pasadena, California. When in Pasadena, Jack and his family moved in with his mom's Uncle Burton. Soon Uncle Burton's house became too crowded for Mallie, Jack, Mack, Frank, Edgar, and Willa Mae. Mallie soon bought her own house from a black man with a light skin complexion. The neighborhood they moved to thought the previous owner had sold to a white man, but were mistaken due to the light complexion. The people also felt their neighborhood would remain white by restrictive covenants, but were also mistaken. The Eagle (a newspaper in Southern California) summed it up into " The condition of affairs surrounding the racial issues in Pasadena is nothing less then nauseating." Once when Jack was sweeping the porch, a girl started yelling at him "Niger! Niger! Niger!" Jackie responded by calling her a "cracker." When her dad heard this he stormed out pelting Jackie with rocks. Jack then retaliated by throwing rocks at him until the man's wife pulled him in, scolding him for fighting with a child. When Jack was a kid he would be around friends called the Pepper Street Gang. This is not someone's usual idea of a gang. It is more like the Little Rascals then the gangs we think about today. This group of kids was made up of different types of ethnicity's that were look down upon in Pasadena. One of the causes of the Pepper Street Gang may be the lack of activities that were available. The YMCA was only open one day a week to minorities. Also the Brookside Park was open only one day a week to minorities. This was especially bad during the summer. Brookside Park had an enticing swimming pool, and it could only be used by minorities' one day a week. Because of those restrictions, this group had to make up their own ways of having fun. When they walked by a fruit cart they would grab all the fruit they could get. They would steal what they could from local stores. They even would hang around at the rough at the golf course and would wait for balls to be hit by them. Once a ball was near them they would take it and wait for more. After they had a few they would wash them off and sell them at the clubhouse. Once they were taken to jail at gunpoint by the sheriff for swimming in the reservoir. These frequent visits got him and his friends acquainted with the police's youth division. This also got him acquainted with one other man, Reverend Karl Downs of Pasadena's Scotts Methodist Church. He would become one of the most important people in Jack's life. Karl joined in on kid's games, outings and other things. He would invite them into his house and give the children full access to his refrigerator. Jack showed no interest in his father who left his mother and family, but Jack tended to want to be around good men like Karl. Being around Karl Downs help stimulate thoughts in him that would strengthen him for problems that he would face later on. Karl also gave Jack direction. For example, Jack would teach Sunday School to give back to the community what Karl gave him.

Washington Elementary school transcripts show Jack had grades of B's and C's, but a decline in quality between the fourth grade and sixth grade. Also the transcripts include a note saying a future job for him could be a gardener. His sister recalls that at about that time he would run inside, and drop his books on the table. Then he would run out side to play. The Pasadena Public Library remembered him as "a constant user." At about this time, he was entering his teenage years at the lowest point in the depression. Other people were taking all the jobs, so it was hard for his mom to get work being the only reliable wage earner. To help out, he helped his mom my by getting jobs mowing lawns, a paper route, and even selling hotdogs in the Rose Bowl. He did not keep any of these jobs long due to dislike of manual labor. Jack's friend Ray Bartlett said, " I used to be a pretty good student. Jack wasn't a good scholar at all. He wasn't worth a damn. They just carried him through." As Jackie got older, he became less open to other people outside his group. When his friends were "warming to girls" he didn't want anything to do with them. As Jack got older his brothers became more important. Edgar, his oldest brother, he described as eccentric at the very least. Jack described him being fascinated with speed. Edgar was given tickets for skating to fast and recklessly and for jumping over cars on his skates. Frank, another brother, showed concern for Jack. Frank could always talk Jackie out of getting trouble and protect him when he got in fights. It was Mack who really inspired him. Mack was not a team player; he did best in track type events. He excelled in the two hundred-meter or two hundred and twenty-yard dash. He would start slowly and close any gap with a "supercharged rush." Mack was also a champion broad jumper. After the Olympic games in Los Angeles, he was determined to be in the Olympics. Finally Mack did make the team to compete in the 1936 Olympics at Berlin. While at the Olympics in Berlin, he won the silver medal in the 200-meter dash. After finishing high school, he decided to go to a junior college near his mom to help her out financially. While playing sports at Pasadena Junior College, he was named, "Most Valuable Junior College Player in Southern California." Shortly after junior college Jack went to University of California Los Angeles. Shortly after being in UCLA, Jacks brother Frank died in a tragic motorcycle accident. This motivated Jack to try even harder to be the best he could be, in honor of his brother Frank. Jackie was UCLA's first four-letter man. In this case Jackie Robinson established records in basketball, football, baseball, and track. The University of California Los Angeles is also where Jackie met his future wife Rachel. Before Jack could graduate and get a degree, his funds ran out and he had to leave UCLA. After leaving UCLA, he was inducted to their Sports Hall of Fame. After he had left UCLA, Jackie received an invitation to play professional football for the Honolulu Bears. When the season ended in December, Jack decided to leave the Honolulu Bears. While at sea Pearl Harbor was bombed. In 1942 Jack received his draft notice. He decided it was his duty as an American to fight for freedom even though racism was still widely spread throughout the Army. After being in the hospital to check bone chips from playing football, he got on a bus to get back to the barracks. On the bus he met the wife of one of his "brother lieutenants" and sat with her to talk. She had a very light complexion for being black. When he was talking to her, the white bus driver became very upset with the notion of a black man talking to, what he thought, was a white woman. The bus driver got up and ordered him to the back of the bus, and kept yelling at him to move. Jack knew army regulations prohibited racial discrimination on the bus refused and yelled right back at him. Jack was going to be tried for drunk and disorderly conduct, and if accused he would have a court martial. Jack could not get an attorney from the NAACP. A letter also received by the NAACP signed "Anonymous" said a conspiracy was forming against Jack. This letter also stated that many people were planning to lie to the panel to railroad Jackie. Because of this letter, the NAACP sent Jack an attorney. Jacks lawyer summed up the case by saying this was not a case "involving any violation of the articles of war, but simply a situation in which a few individuals sought to vent their bigotry on a Negro they considered 'uppity'." He was acquitted that day. Jack missed going out to sea with his outfit so he wanted out. He wrote a letter to the Generals office talking about his bone chips. He was soon honorably discharged because of the bone chips. After leaving the Army, he joined the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro league team. He was paid $400 a month (a lot of money then), but the travel schedule and travel arrangements stunk. A scout later approached Jackie from the major leagues. The scout gave Jack a date and time for a tryout with the Philadelphia Stars. Neither players nor manager showed up. On August 28 1945 Jack went to a meeting with Branch Rickey. At that meeting they discussed many things. The most important was that first spring training. Jack and his wife had a very hard journey to spring training in the south for the Montreal Royals and Brooklyn Dodgers. They were bumped from their flights 3 time before taking the bus. On the bus they were told to sit in the back. They encountered much bigotry. Worst of all, Jackie went into a slump. Things were looking glum until late in the training he regained his confidence. He won a place on the Montreal Royals, a minor league team. When they moved to Montreal they noticed there was almost no racism at all. When they moved into their apartment the people who were letting them rent their apartment offered to leave the fine china dishes. He started his first game with four hits, two stolen bases, drove in 3 runs, bunted safely, and scored twice on walks. In that season he went on to help them win the Little World Series. After that season he went back to Florida for spring training. This time he didn't lose his confidence and played his hardest the whole time. He then won a place on the Brooklyn Dodgers. After signing his contract he was the first African American in Organized baseball! He started his first season in 1947. The next two seasons would be some of the hardest mentally and physically. Teams promised they would strike if they had to play on the same field as Robinson. There were deliberate attempts to hurt him. Pitchers through balls at his head with the intent to injure him. Player would also slide with their legs high to draw blood. They started receiving letters midseason in graphic detail of what he or she was going to do to them. 25 years later he would be honored at the 1972 World Series. On October 23, 1972 Jack rushed downstairs to his wife told her he loved her and fell to the floor and died.

Jackie gave a gift to the whole nation that can't be broken. By accomplishing what he did he changed the whole nation. He showed white people they could root for black men. Also, how all race's destinies are crossed and how we have to live with one and another no matter our feelings. We will always see the accomplishments he has made.

================================================