Jackie was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of 5 children and his father, Jerry was a sharecropper. Shortly after Jackie's birth, his father left the family and didn't return until his son had become famous, at which point Jackie sent him away.
With his father's abandonment, Jackie's family couldn't sustain themselves and had to move across the country to Pasadena, California to live with his mother's brother. There his mother was able to get a job ironing and washing laundry but even that couldn't support all five children and so she had to apply for welfare. Because Jackie was so young he couldn't attend kindergarten yet and so he would follow his older sister Willa Mae to her school and the teachers allowed him to play in the playground all day. During days when it rained, he was sent into the kindergarten classes where he was able to socialize with the other children.
Although life in Pasadena was better than Cairo with more opportunities and less racism and discrimination, there was still some challenges Jackie would face. A neighbor of his, Carl Anderson, helped him to stay out of trouble when he begin acting out and he would be call names while walking in his neighborhood which sometimes broke out into fights. Jackie soon realized his athletic abilities and how they could be used to help him out of poverty. Jealous opponents would often insult his family and face to try and get him to mess up but instead it worked as a driving force to enhance his abilities. During high school he excelled in four major varsity teams: basketball, baseball, football and track. He continued with these sports at UCLA, where he enrolled to stay close with his family. Unfortunately shortly before the start his brother Frank who had been a motivation to Jackie died in a motorcycle accident. Jackie continued to excel even with his brothers absence.
In 1940, Jackie was introduced to Rachel Isum by close friends, the two would marry six years later.
Due to his mother's constant hardships and his belief that he didn't need a college degree to move forward in life he dropped out of UCLA before his graduation. In 1942 he was drafted into the army, due to his athletic abilities he was in the Officer's Candidate School. By January 1943, he became a second lieutenant. However, shortly after he was honorably discharged for a broken ankle he'd suffered in college because he refused to move to the back of the bus during a tour of duty. He was arrested and brought to trial but was able to avoid any further punishment.
http://www.jackierobinson.org/about/jackie.php
Bergmen, Irwin B. Jackie Robinson. Chelsea House Publishing, 1994. Print.
With his father's abandonment, Jackie's family couldn't sustain themselves and had to move across the country to Pasadena, California to live with his mother's brother. There his mother was able to get a job ironing and washing laundry but even that couldn't support all five children and so she had to apply for welfare. Because Jackie was so young he couldn't attend kindergarten yet and so he would follow his older sister Willa Mae to her school and the teachers allowed him to play in the playground all day. During days when it rained, he was sent into the kindergarten classes where he was able to socialize with the other children.
Although life in Pasadena was better than Cairo with more opportunities and less racism and discrimination, there was still some challenges Jackie would face. A neighbor of his, Carl Anderson, helped him to stay out of trouble when he begin acting out and he would be call names while walking in his neighborhood which sometimes broke out into fights. Jackie soon realized his athletic abilities and how they could be used to help him out of poverty. Jealous opponents would often insult his family and face to try and get him to mess up but instead it worked as a driving force to enhance his abilities. During high school he excelled in four major varsity teams: basketball, baseball, football and track. He continued with these sports at UCLA, where he enrolled to stay close with his family. Unfortunately shortly before the start his brother Frank who had been a motivation to Jackie died in a motorcycle accident. Jackie continued to excel even with his brothers absence.
In 1940, Jackie was introduced to Rachel Isum by close friends, the two would marry six years later.
Due to his mother's constant hardships and his belief that he didn't need a college degree to move forward in life he dropped out of UCLA before his graduation. In 1942 he was drafted into the army, due to his athletic abilities he was in the Officer's Candidate School. By January 1943, he became a second lieutenant. However, shortly after he was honorably discharged for a broken ankle he'd suffered in college because he refused to move to the back of the bus during a tour of duty. He was arrested and brought to trial but was able to avoid any further punishment.
http://www.jackierobinson.org/about/jackie.php
Bergmen, Irwin B. Jackie Robinson. Chelsea House Publishing, 1994. Print.