About Jackie
News
MLB ready to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day 04-14-09
By request of Commissioner Bud Selig, as Major League Baseball celebrates the 62nd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking its color barrier on Wednesday, all big league players and uniformed personnel have been asked to wear the late Hall of Famer's famous No. 42 on the field when the 30 teams celebrate the occasion.
The past two years, as the momentum to wear Robinson's number steamrolled through Major League clubhouses, Selig asked, but the act of wearing it was voluntary. Not so this year.
Biography
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. They were the only black family on their block, and the prejudice they encountered only strengthened their bond.
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Fast Facts
Birth Name: Jack Roosevelt Robinson
Born: January 31, 1919 in Cairo, GA
Died: October 24, 1972 in Stamford, CT
Married: Rachel Issum, February 10, 1946
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Achievements
In 1947, Jackie Robinson engineered the integration of professional sports in America by breaking the color barrier in baseball.
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Awards
Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility
NAACP's prestigious Springarn Medal
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Quotes
"Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead."
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Stats
Jackie Robinson by the numbers.
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