Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson
Second baseman
Born: (1919-01-31)January 31, 1919 Cairo, Georgia, U.S.
Died: October 24, 1972(1972-10-24) (aged 53) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
April 15, 1947, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last appearance
October 10, 1966, for the New York Mets
Career statistics
Batting average	.311
Hits	1,518
Home runs	137
Runs batted in	734
Stolen bases	197
Teams
Negro leagues Kansas City Monarchs (1945) Major League Baseball Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–1951) New York Giants(1951–1962) New York Mets(1962–1966)
Career highlights and awards
6× All-Star selection (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954) Negro League All-Star selection (1945) World Series champion (1955) 1947 MLB Rookie of the Year 1949 NL MVP Jersey number 42 retired by all MLB teams Major League Baseball All-Century Team
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1962
Vote	77.5% (first ballot)

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 20, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was the first African-American Major League Baseball (MLB) player of modern times.^[1] Robinson broke the baseball color barrier when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He was the first black man to openly play in the major leagues since the 1880s. He had a big role in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball. Up to that point, African-Americans could only play in Negro leagues for six decades.

Apart from his cultural impact, Robinson had an overall good baseball career. Over ten seasons, he played in six World Series and helped in the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954.^[2] Robinson received the first MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947. He also won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949. He was the first black player to win this award.^[3] Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.

Robinson was also known for his activities outside of baseball. He was the first African-American television analyst in Major League Baseball. He was also the first African-American vice-president of a major American company. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned/controlled financial business based in Harlem, New York. In honor of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal after his death.

1. ↑ Lamb, p. 6.
2. ↑ "Jackie Robinson statistics and history". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
3. ↑ Nemec & Flatow, p. 201.