Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972

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Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. 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. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.

In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.

Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
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creatorOf NONMUSIC RECORDING (COLLECTION) Audio materials, 1956-1977 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Audio materials, 1956-1977 [sound recording]. Library of Congress
referencedIn Meany, Tom 1903 - 1964. Tom Meany Scorebooks : scorebook 1947 - 1963. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection. 1951 - 1951. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1941 - 3/1957. PARAMOUNT NEWS [FEB. 16] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Papers of Pauli Murray, 1827-1985: Series IV, 1926-1985 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972. Letter, 1972, July 21. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Harris, Mark, 1922-2007. Mark Harris Papers : papers 1958-1998. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963. Letter, 1960, July 1. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn White House Central Files (Johnson Administration), 11/22/1963 - 1/20/1969. White House Subject Files on Human Rights, 11/22/1963 - 1/20/1969. Equality of the Races/Alabama (HU 2/ST 1). Telegram, Jackie Robinson to President Lyndon B. Johnson, 3/9/65, Gen HU 2/ST 1, WHCF, Box 27. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
referencedIn Summers, Herb. Brooklyn Dodgers Scrapbooks : scrapbooks, 1943-1950 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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referencedIn Fellowship Commission. Photographs, 1946-1985 (Inclusive Dates). Temple University Libraries, Paley Library
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referencedIn George S. Schuyler Papers, 1912-1976. Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection. 1951 - 1951. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1941 - 3/1957. PARAMOUNT NEWS [AUG. 3] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn The Jackie Robinson story : screenplay, [1950]. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn De Jongh, James. Play to win : musical script, 1984 : the story of Jackie Robinson / book & lyrics by James de Jongh, Charles Cleveland, Jimi Foster ; music by Jimi Foster. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Chuck Stone Papers, 1931-2007 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Fox Movietone News Collection. 1957 - 1963. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 1957 - 1963. Movietone News, Vol. 45, No. 20 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Hearst Metrotone News, Inc., Collection. 1937 - 1942. News of the Day Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1963 - 12/1967. News of the Day (Aug. 26) National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection. 1951 - 1951. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1941 - 3/1957. PARAMOUNT NEWS [FEB. 15] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Harlem Branch YMCA. Harlem YMCA photographs, 1920s-1970s (bulk 1940s-1960s). University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
referencedIn International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Charles S. Zimmerman papers, 1919-1958 [bulk 1920-1945]. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
creatorOf Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972. Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1959-1972. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972. Letter, 1954, October 11. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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referencedIn David Goldin Collection, 1932 - ca. 1952. Audio Recordings of Radio Broadcasts of Speeches, Interviews, Combat Reports, Special Events, Public Affairs, and Entertainment for U.S. Troops, 1932 - ca. 1952. SECOND (1949) WORLD SERIES BASEBALL GAME - NEW YORK YANKEES VERSUS BROOKLYN DODGERS. National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Lamb, Chris. October 23, 1945 : the beginning of integration in baseball : typescript, 1996 / Chris Lamb, Marc Bona. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn American Committee on Africa. Archives 1948-1988. Tulane University, Amistad Research Center
referencedIn HOF Correspondence Collection : letters. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Arthur Mann Papers, 1901-1969, (bulk 1945-1962) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn David Goldin Collection, 1932 - ca. 1952. Audio Recordings of Radio Broadcasts of Speeches, Interviews, Combat Reports, Special Events, Public Affairs, and Entertainment for U.S. Troops, 1932 - ca. 1952. FIRST (1949) WORLD SERIES BASEBALL GAME - NEW YORK YANKEES VERSUS BROOKLYN DODGERS. National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Letter, 1955, October 7. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Newspaper Collection : papers 1886-2007. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Records of the U.S. Information Agency. 1900 - 2003. Photographs Documenting the 1964 Republican Convention in San Francisco, California National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Papers of John F. Kennedy: Presidential Papers: White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford, 1961 - 1962. Alphabetical Files, 1961 - 1962. Robinson, Jackie, 1961: 28 July-5 September. John F. Kennedy Library
referencedIn Dannay, Frederic, 1905-1982. Papers, ca.1920-1982. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Guide to the Daily Worker and Daily World Photographs Collection, 1920-2001 Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
referencedIn Fox Movietone News Collection. 1957 - 1963. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 1957 - 1963. Movietone News, Vol. 45, No. 65 National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972. Letters, 1952-1955. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Pre-Presidential Papers of Richard M. Nixon. 1946 - 1963. General Correspondence Richard Nixon Library
creatorOf Papers of John F. Kennedy: Presidential Papers: White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford, 1961 - 1962. Alphabetical Files, 1961 - 1962. Robinson, Jackie, 1961: 28 July-5 September. Letter to President John F. Kennedy from Jackie Robinson, 2/9/1961. John F. Kennedy Library
referencedIn M. Moran Weston Papers, 1824-1994 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Kahn, Roger, 1927-. Roger Kahn Papers : papers 1936-2004. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn William Ernest Hocking papers Houghton Library
creatorOf White House Central Files (Eisenhower Administration). 1953 - 1961. Official Files. 1953 - 1961. OF 142-A-5-A Negro Matters - Colored Question, Integration Program for Public Schools, Colleges and Universities, Little Rock School Integration, Gov. Faubus' Use of National Guard (6). 1957 - 1957. Telegram from Jackie Robinson to E. Frederick Morrow Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
referencedIn George R. Metcalf papers, 1956-1971 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
referencedIn Pre-Presidential Papers of Richard M. Nixon. 1946 - 1963. General Correspondence Richard Nixon Library
referencedIn Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection. 1951 - 1951. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1941 - 3/1957. PARAMOUNT NEWS [OCT. 6] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Cable, Dale. Jackie Robinson and the integration of organized baseball : typescript, 1979 / Dale Cable. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Lamb, Chris. As different as black and white : typescript, 1996 : media coverage of Jackie Robinson's first spring training / Chris Lamb, Glen Bleske, Marc Bona. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn [Jackie Robinson ephemera]. Cleveland Public Library, Main Library
referencedIn Fox Movietone News Collection. 1957 - 1963. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 1957 - 1963. Movietone News, Vol. 45, No. 13 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Donovan, Jack. [Jackie Robinson Scrapbook : c1947-1972, (bulk 1947-1956) / compiled by Jack Donovan.] National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Stone, Martin. [Martin Stone's Jackie Robinson file : correspondence and miscellaneous papers about baseball star Jackie Robinson and the Jackie Robinson Foundation, 1963-1987]. Cleveland Public Library, Main Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Dodgers photographs, 1949-1956 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Frederic Dannay Papers, ca.1920-1982. Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn McCain, James T. James T. McCain papers, 1957-1972. University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries
referencedIn Davis, Grace. Grace Davis collection, 1948-1969 Western Michigan University, Dwight B. Waldo Library
referencedIn Weston, M. Moran, 1910-. Papers, 1824-1994. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn McLendon, Gordon B., 1921-1986. Papers, 1917-1978, 1952-1978. Texas Tech University Libraries, Academic Library
referencedIn Brewster, Joshua. Jackie Robinson : typescript, 1996, May 3 : first black in Major League Baseball / Joshua Brewster, Eric Fiske, Michael Ormsby. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
creatorOf Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972. Letter, 1952 May 20 : to Mr. George McGullough. Temple University, Blockson Afro-American History Collection
referencedIn National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. NBHOF Scrapbook : scrapbook, 1962 - 1963. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
creatorOf Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972. Letter, 1945, October 31. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection. 1951 - 1951. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1941 - 3/1957. PARAMOUNT NEWS [MAR. 3] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Smith, Wendell, 1914-1972. [Wendell Smith papers : c1943-1961]. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Humphrey for President Committee. Wisconsin. Records, 1956-1960. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Milgram, Morris 1916, Morris Milgram papers 1923-1994, undated Historical Society of Pennsylvania
creatorOf White House Central Files (Eisenhower Administration). 1953 - 1961. Official Files. 1953 - 1961. Negro Matters - Colored Question (6). 1957 - 1958. Letter from Jackie Robinson to President Eisenhower of May 13, 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
creatorOf Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972. Letter, 1957, January 14. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Jackie Robinson Foundation. Copy of Jackie Robinson Papers : papers 1937-1989. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Harlem YMCA photographs., 1920s-1970s., (bulk 1940s-1960s) University of Minnesota Libraries. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca]
referencedIn Behn, Robert D. Branch Rickey as a public manager: fulfilling the eight responsibilities of public management, 1997 / Robert D. Behn. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
creatorOf Jackie Robinson Papers, 1934-2001, (bulk 1947-1987) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Schmidt, Ed. (Edward T.). Mr. Rickey calls a meeting : script, 1990, March / by Ed Schmidt. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Records of the National Park Service. 1785 - 2006. White House Albums. 1953 - 1961. Photograph of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jackie Robinson and Joe E. Brown Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
referencedIn Branch Rickey Papers, 1890-1969, (bulk 1936-1965) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Records of the U.S. Information Agency. 1900 - 2003. Hold File Photographs Relating to American Political, Cultural, and Economic Activities, Prominent U.S. and Foreign Personalities, and World Events National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Peter Simon Photographic Archive 2009-118., 1964-1995 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn Bloeser, Kurt Unknown. Kurt Bloeser Comic Book Collection comic books 3 1901-2006 1941-2006. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection. 1951 - 1951. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1941 - 3/1957. PARAMOUNT NEWS [APR. 16] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn National Baseball Hall of Fame Scrapbook : scrapbook, 1972. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
creatorOf Carl T. Rowan Papers, 1946-1992 Oberlin College Library
referencedIn Papers of Pauli Murray, 1827-1985 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn [Player file : Robinson, Jack Roosevelt, 1947- / compiled by the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.]. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection. 1951 - 1951. Motion Picture Newsreel Films. 10/1941 - 3/1957. PARAMOUNT NEWS [DEC. 21] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Jules Tygiel, 1949-2008. Jules Tygiel Papers : papers 1944-1990. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
referencedIn Rogers, John Carr, d. 1979. Letters to John Carr Rogers, [manuscript], 1971-1972. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Southern Elections Fund. Papers, 1965-1975 of the Fund and of the chairman of the Board of Trustees, Julian Bond [manuscript]. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Dodgers team photographs, 1953 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
Relation Name
associatedWith African-American Students Federation. corporateBody
associatedWith African American Students Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Ahernathy, Peggy, person
associatedWith American Committee on Africa. corporateBody
associatedWith American Committee on Africa. corporateBody
correspondedWith Bavasi, Buzzie person
associatedWith Behn, Robert D. person
associatedWith Bloeser, Kurt Unknown person
associatedWith Bowles, Chester, 1901-1986. person
associatedWith Brewster, Joshua. person
associatedWith Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team) corporateBody
memberOf Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team) corporateBody
associatedWith Brush, Bob. person
associatedWith Cable, Dale. person
correspondedWith Campanella, Roy, 1921-1993 person
correspondedWith Chandler, Happy, 1898- person
correspondedWith Chandler, Happy, 1898- person
employeeOf Chock Full O'Nuts. corporateBody
associatedWith Communist Party of the United States of America. corporateBody
associatedWith Dannay, Frederic, 1905-1982. person
associatedWith Davis, Grace. person
associatedWith De Jongh, James. person
associatedWith Dial, Walter, 1931- person
associatedWith Donovan, Jack. person
correspondedWith Dressen, Charles person
correspondedWith Duckett, Alfred person
associatedWith Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969 person
associatedWith Fellowship Commission. corporateBody
associatedWith Freedom National Bank (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Goldwater, Barry M. (Barry Morris), 1909-1998. person
associatedWith Harlem Branch YMCA. corporateBody
associatedWith Harriman, W. Averell (William Averell), 1891-1986. person
associatedWith Harris, Mark, 1922-2007. person
correspondedWith Hocking, William Ernest, 1873-1966 person
associatedWith Humphrey for President Committee. Wisconsin. corporateBody
associatedWith Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978. person
associatedWith Jackie Robinson Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973. person
associatedWith Jules Tygiel, 1949-2008. person
associatedWith Kahn, Roger, 1927- person
memberOf Kansas City Monarchs (Baseball team) corporateBody
associatedWith Keating, Kenneth B. (Kenneth Barnard), 1900-1975. person
associatedWith Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963. person
associatedWith Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968. person
associatedWith Lamb, Chris. person
associatedWith Mann, Arthur, 1901-1963. person
correspondedWith Mann, Arthur (Arthur William), 1901- person
associatedWith McCain, James T. person
associatedWith McDaniel, Ted F. person
associatedWith McGullough, George, person
associatedWith McLendon, Gordon B., 1921-1986. person
associatedWith Meany, Tom 1903 - 1964. person
associatedWith Metcalf, George R., 1914- person
associatedWith Milgram, Morris 1916- person
associatedWith Murray, Pauli, 1910-1985. person
associatedWith National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. corporateBody
associatedWith National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. corporateBody
associatedWith New York Giants (Baseball team) corporateBody
correspondedWith Norton, Ralph person
correspondedWith Norton, Ralph person
correspondedWith O'Malley, Walter F. (Walter Frank), 1903-1979 person
associatedWith Pauli Murray, 1910-1985 person
associatedWith Powell, Adam Clayton, 1908-1972. person
correspondedWith Reichler, Joseph L., 1915- person
associatedWith Rickey, Branch, 1881-1965. person
associatedWith Robinson, Rachel. person
associatedWith Robinson, Rachel, 1922- person
associatedWith Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979. person
associatedWith Rogers, John Carr, d. 1979. person
associatedWith Rowan, Carl T. (Carl Thomas), 1925-2000. person
associatedWith Schmidt, Ed. (Edward T.). person
associatedWith Schuyler, George Samuel, 1895- person
associatedWith Simon, Peter person
associatedWith Smith, Wendell, 1914-1972, person
associatedWith Southern Christian Leadership Conference. corporateBody
associatedWith Southern Elections Fund. corporateBody
associatedWith Stave, Bruce M. person
associatedWith Stone, Chuck person
associatedWith Stone, Chuck person
associatedWith Stoneham, Horace, person
associatedWith Sukeforth, Clyde, person
associatedWith Summers, Herb. person
associatedWith United Press International. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities. corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf University of California, Los Angeles corporateBody
associatedWith Weston, M. Moran, 1910- person
associatedWith Wilbur, Kay, person
associatedWith X, Malcolm, 1925-1965. person
associatedWith Zimmerman, Charles S. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Stamford CT US
Cairo GA US
Subject
African Americans
African Americans
Baseball
Business
Civil rights movement
Mass media
Race discrimination
Retirement
Occupation
Baseball players
Civil rights leaders
Executives
Activity

Person

Birth 1919-01-31

Death 1972-10-24

Male

African Americans,

Americans

English

Information

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