Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson, was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919. Jackie Robinson played four sports; football, basketball, track, and baseball. At UCLA, he became the first athlete to receive four varsity letters in all of those sports. He played semi-pro baseball, and later went to the army. He faced some prejudice while he was in the army, but was able to leave with an honorable discharge.
At that time, Black people could not play in the major sports league, so Jackie Robinson played in the Negro Leagues. Because of his talent, Jackie Robinson became the first African American player to play in the modern National Baseball league for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He faced protests against him, was picked on, and even had death threats. He still played the game on and off the field, with his work with the NAACP, his record-setting plays, and his inspiring actions and words.
