Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia as the youngest of five children, raised by his single mother in relative poverty. He attended John Muir High School as a teenager, and went on to Pasadena Junior College. While in college, he played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track, and was named the region's Most Valuable Player in baseball in 1938. His education continued at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was the first, and only, student to earn varsity letters in four sports (football, basketball, track, and baseball). He was forced to leave UCLA in 1941 because of financial troubles. He moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to play football for the semi-professional Honolulu Bears, but the season was cut short with the US entry into World War II.
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From 1942 to 1944, Robinson served as a lieutenant in the US Army. He never saw combat however; he was arrested and court-martialed after he refused to move from his seat on a segregated bus during training. Eventually, the charge was dropped and he received an honorable discharge.
It was after leaving the army that Robinson began to play baseball professionally.
It was after leaving the army that Robinson began to play baseball professionally.
Citations:
Jackie Robinson Foundation. "About Jackie Robinson." The Jackie Robinson
Foundation. Last modified 2011. Accessed May 29, 2014.
http://www.jackierobinson.org/about/jackie.php.
Jackie Robinson in the Army. Photograph. Accessed May 30, 2014.
http://www.biography.com/people/jackie-robinson-9460813#awesm=~oFLL7HqwWUQ9sg.
Jackie Robinson in UCLA Track Uniform. Photograph. UCLA History (Alumni).
Accessed May 30, 2014. http://alumni.ucla.edu/share/ucla-history/
tmih-apr-robinson.aspx.
Jackie Robinson Foundation. "About Jackie Robinson." The Jackie Robinson
Foundation. Last modified 2011. Accessed May 29, 2014.
http://www.jackierobinson.org/about/jackie.php.
Jackie Robinson in the Army. Photograph. Accessed May 30, 2014.
http://www.biography.com/people/jackie-robinson-9460813#awesm=~oFLL7HqwWUQ9sg.
Jackie Robinson in UCLA Track Uniform. Photograph. UCLA History (Alumni).
Accessed May 30, 2014. http://alumni.ucla.edu/share/ucla-history/
tmih-apr-robinson.aspx.