Jackie Robinson trivia: 40 interesting facts about the baseball player!

Jackie Robinson is the first African American baseball player to in the MLB in the modern era!

1. His full name is Jack Roosevelt Robinson
2. He was born on January 31, 1919
3. He died in October 24, 1972
4. Jackei Robinson was an American professional baseball player
5. He the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era
6. Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947
7. 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
8. Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962
9. Jackie Robinson had an exceptional 10-year MLB career
10. He was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947
11. He was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954
12. He also won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949
13. The first black player so honored
14. Jackie Robinson played in six World Series
15. He contributed to the Dodgers’ 1955 World Series championship
16. In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams
17. He was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honored
18. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, “Jackie Robinson Day”, for the first time on April 15, 2004
19. On this day every player on every team wears No. 42
20. Robinson’s character, his use of nonviolence, and his unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation
21. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement
22. Jackie Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB
23. He was also the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o’Nuts
24. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank
25. After his death in 1972, in recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal
26. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
27. He was the youngest of five children
28. His mother’s name was Mallie McGriff
29. And his father’s Jerry Robinson
30. His siblings were Edgar, Frank, Matthew (nicknamed “Mack”), and Willa Mae
31. His middle name was in honor of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who died 25 days before Robinson was born
32. Jackie Robinson’s father left the family in 1920
33. His family moved to Pasadena, California
34. Growing up in relative poverty in an otherwise affluent community, Robinson and his minority friends were excluded from many recreational opportunities
35. Jackie Robinson married Rachel Robinson
36. They had three children: Jackie Robinson Jr. (1946–1971), Sharon Robinson (b. 1950), and David Robinson (b. 1952)
37. Complications from heart disease and diabetes weakened Robinson and made him almost blind by middle age
38. Jackie Robinson died of a heart attack at his home on 95 Cascade Road in North Stamford, Connecticut
39. He was 53 years old
40. His life was made into a movie called ’42!