Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in a small town of Cairo, Georgia, to a family of sharecroppers. Jackie's mother, Mallie Robinson, single handedly raised him and his four siblings. They later moved to Pasadena, California, where they encountered much racial discrimination. They were the only black family living on the block at that time so Jackie did not have a very pleasant childhood. He had no friends and never went out into the neighborhood. He grew up excelling in many different sports though, such as: football, basketball, baseball, and track. He went to high school at John Muir Technical High and played all four sports there. He then went on to college at University of California at Los Angeles or better known as UCLA. At UCLA he was the first athlete to be on four varsity teams. In 1941 he made the All-American football team. After college, he became a professional football player for the Los Angeles Bulldogs. He then enlisted in the !
             U.S. Army due to financial pressure on his family. He eventually became a second lieutenant. Not long after that, Jackie was court-marshaled for speaking out on racial discrimination. He then was given an honorable discharge. In 1945, Jackie played in the Negro Leagues of baseball. He traveled all over America with the Kansas City Monarchs. He and his friends, Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, heard about a man who was trying to integrate baseball. Jackie never thought that the man, Branch Rickey, would choose him.
             Jackie started his professional baseball career with the Dodgers. By the end of his first season with the dodgers he had married his love, Rachel Isum, had gotten 12 homeruns, 29 steals, and a .297 batting average, which means that every ONE-THOUSAND times he batted he got a hit 297 times. He also got the Rookie of the Year Award, given to the rookie with the best statistics. In 1949, he was selected as the National League Most Val...