Jackie Robinson once said,
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
Only a few lives have embodied this idea as powerfully as Jackie Robinson’s. Impacting millions of people over many generations, Jackie Robinson is easily one of the most well-known baseball players of all time.
Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia. Jackie was a World War II veteran, and also a four-sport athlete at UCLA. Robinson played Baseball, Basketball, Football, and ran track. He was well-versed in every sport, he could have gone pro in each, however he enjoyed Baseball much more than any other sport.
Jackie then went to the Negro Leagues and dominated both sides of the diamond, and then he was later brought up to the MLB to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers (present day Los Angeles Dodgers), who were coached by Branch Rickey, and Jackie played shortstop for the Dodgers.
Jackie batted over .350 with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues, and then batted a .313 average with the Dodgers, which consisted of 141 home runs, 765 RBI’s, he stole 203 bases, and had an elite on base plus slugging percentage of .887.
Robinson had received six consecutive all star awards that stemmed from 1949 to 1954. And that’s not all, as Jackie was also awarded the National League MVP in 1949, and he won a World Series in 1955.
Jackie Robinson Day is April 15th, but why April 15th? This was the day he broke the “color barrier”, by debuting in the MLB in 1947. This is celebrated by the MLB where every player on April 15 wears number 42, which is the famed number that the great Jackie Robinson wore. The number 42 was retired league-wide in 1997, however is dusted off to be worn on one day per year, as it has for nearly three decades.
Beyond his achievements on the field, Robinson’s character off the field left an equally as powerful legacy.
Jackie was a devoted father of 3 kids, Jackie Jr., Sharon Robinson, and David Robinson. He cherished and protected them when they were affected by racism out in public. Since he knew the disrespect would be more intensified due to his fame, he spent time with them when he could and would always give his kids pep talks before every day of school to build their mental toughness.
Jackie had a wife, Rachel, who is still alive today at the age of 103! To this day, she still speaks highly of number 42’s name which should just provide enough proof he was a good family man as well.
Even though I myself am a Mets fan, Jackie Robinson will always be recognized as one of my favorite players, and someone I idolize and aspire to be every time I walk out onto the diamond.
