Jackie Robinson Events

1919 Jan 31 Jackie Robinson Born
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, the youngest of five children during a Spanish flu and smallpox epidemic. His older siblings include Edgar, Frank, Mack and Wi...
1936
to 1937
Jackie Robinson attends John Muir High School
In 1935, Robinson graduated from Dakota Junior High School and enrolled in John Muir High School ("Muir Tech"). There he played on various Muir Tech sport teams, and lettered in four of ...
1937
to 1939
Jackie Robinson attends Pasadena Junior College
Jackie Robinson attendsPasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career, playing basketball, football, baseball, and track. On the football team he played quarte...
1939
to 1941
Jackie Robinson attends UCLA
Jackie Robinson transferred from Pasadena Junior College to the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in f...
1941 Sep 1
to 1941 Dec 5
 Jackie Robinson plays for the Honolulu Bears
Jackie Robinson went to Hawaii in the fall of 1941 to join a semiprofessional, racially integrated football team, the Honolulu Bears. On weekends he was a member of the team, and during t...
1942 Mar 18 Jackie Robinson tries out for the Chicago White Sox
Jackie Robinson and Nate Moreland, two black players, ask the Chicago White Sox for a tryout. Manager Jimmy Dykes grants both players a workout, but neither will make the Sox' roster.
1942 Apr 3 Jackie Robinson inducted into US Army
After being drafted, Robinson was assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied ...
1944 Jul 17 Jackie Robinson arrested for refusing to move to back of military bus
While awaiting results of hospital tests on his prior ankle injury from junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow black officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned...
1944 Aug 3 Jackie Robinson acquitted in court martial trial
Jackie Robinson acquitted of reduced charges of alleged insubordination; the actual incident on the bus that had precipitated his prosecution was not mentioned in the charges or at the tr...
1944 Nov 28 Jackie Robinson accepts honorable discharge from the Army
After acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, where he served as a coach for army athletics until he received an honorable discharge in November 1944.
1945 Jackie Robinson plays for Kansas City Monarchs in Negro Leagues
In early 1945, while still at Sam Huston College, Robinson received an offer to play for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. Robinson's contract was for $400 a month. In al...
1945 Apr 16 Jackie Robinson tries out for Boston Red Sox
Jackie Robinson and two other black players, Sam Jethroe and Marvin Williams, participate in a Boston Red Sox tryout at Fenway Park. The Red Sox elect to sign none of the three. Robinson ...
1945 Aug 28 Jackie Robinson Signs with Brooklyn Dodgers' Organization
Branch Rickey, president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers signs Jackie Robinson to a contract and assigns him to the team's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals....
1945 Oct 23 Jackie Robinson signs with Dodger's organization and is assigned to the Montreal Royals
Jackie Robinson signs a contract to play with the Montreal Royals of the International League, a farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He received a $3,500 bonus and $600 per month salary.
1946 Mar 17 Jackie Robinson makes debut in professional organized baseball with Montreal Royals
Jackie Robinson made his professional debut in organized professional baseball at Daytona's City Island Ballpark, in an exhibition game between the Royals and their parent club, the Brook...
1946 Apr 18 Jackie Robinson plays first regular season game with Montreal Royals
Jackie Robinson plays his first professional baseball game for the Montreal Royals at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Montreal Royals won 14 - 1.
1947 Jackie Robinson wins Rookie of Year Award for Major League Baseball
Jackie Robinson finished his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers with 12 home runs, a league-leading 29 steals, and a .297 average in 1947, earning him the inaugural Major League Baseb...
1947 Apr 15 Jackie Robinson plays in first game as a major leaguer with Brooklyn Dodgers
In his first season, with Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson was forced to play first base. On April 15, 1947 Robinson made his debut before a crowd of 26,62...
1948 Aug 29 Jackie Robinson hits for cycle against the St. Louis Cardinals
Jackie Robinson hits for the cycle in the first game of a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. Robinson scores three runs and drives in a pair to help the Brooklyn Dodgers to a ...
1949 Jackie Robinson wins National League Most Valuable Player (MVP)
Jackie Robinson won the Most Valuable Player award for the National League, leading the league with a .342 batting average and 37 stolen bases. Baseball fans also voted Robinson as the s...
1950 Jackie Robinson stars as himself in biographical movie, "The Jackie Robinson Story"
Jackie Robinson appears in a film biography, "The Jackie Robinson Story" in which he played himself. Actress Ruby Dee played Rachael "Rae" (Isum) Robinson.
1951 Oct 3 New York Giants win NL Pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World"
"There's a long drive... it's gonna be, I believe...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! Bobby Thomson hits into..." —Russ Hodges, WMCA-AM announcer
1955 Oct 4 Jackie Robinson wins his only championship, as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in seven games
The 1955 World Series matched the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in seven games to capture their first championship in franchise histor...
1957 Jan 5 Jackie Robinson retires from baseball
Jackie Robinson decided to retire from baseball after the 1956 season. He accepted a job offer from the Chock Full O' Nuts restaurant chain in New York and contracted with Look magazine t...
1962 Jul 23 Jackie Robinson enshrined in Baseball Hall of Fame
In his first year of eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, Robinson encouraged voters to consider only his on-field qualifications, rather than his cultural impact on the gam...
1972 Jun 4 Dodger's retire Jackie Robinson's number, along with those of Roy Campanella and Sandy Koufax
The date was June 4, 1972, when the Dodgers held a pregame ceremony to retire the first three numbers in team history -- Robinson's No. 42, Roy Campanella's No. 39 and Sandy Koufax's No. ...
1972 Oct 15 Jackie Robinson Throws Out The First pitch At The Second Game Of The World Series
On October 15, 1972, Jackie Robinson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the second game of the World Series commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his becoming the first Afric...
1972 Oct 24 Jackie Robinson Dies
Robinson's body, which had served him well as an athlete, failed early. Heart disease complications and diabetes weakened him and made him almost blind by middle age. On October 24, 1972,...
1997 Apr 15 Major League Baseball retires Jackie Robinson's number 42
Robinson's jersey number, 42, was retired by Major League Baseball; no future player on any major league team can wear it. The number was retired in ceremonies at Shea Stadium to mark the...