Important Events of January – 31
Jackie Robinson’s birthday
BIRTH: January 31, 1919
- Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.
- Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, they heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.
- Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
- After graduating from PJC in spring 1939, Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became the school’s first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.
- In track and field, Robinson won the 1940 NCAA championship in the long jump at 24 ft 10 1⁄4 in (7.58 m). Belying his future career, Robinson’s “worst sport” at UCLA was baseball; he hit .097 in his only season, although in his first game he went 4-for-4 and twice stole home.
- In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located at Fort Riley.
Major leagues:
- Breaking the color barrier (1947)
- MVP, Congressional testimony, and film biography (1948–1950)
- Pennant races and outside interests (1951–1953)
- World Championship and retirement (1954–1956)
Death: October 24, 1972
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