All the details you need to know about when did Jackie Robinson join the MLB who changed the game forever.
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson took the field for his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. It was the start of an unrivaled baseball career. Over the end of his nine-year career with the Dodgers, he had a.311 batting average, 137 home runs, 734 runs batted in, and 197 stolen bases. He played a key role in the Dodgers’ World Series victory against the New York Yankees in 1955. Robinson was named Rookie of the Year in 1947, Most Valuable Player in 1949, and the first African American elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Robinson became a full-fledged Civil Rights activist after integrating baseball. He utilized his notoriety to advance human rights and to alter the face of racial relations in the United States. Robinson was appointed as the Vice President for Personnel at Chock Full O’Nuts after retiring from the game in 1957, making him the first African American to be named a Vice President of a major American corporation. He leveraged his position at Chock Full O’ Nuts to enhance employee working conditions.
Robinson, an ardent NAACP member, was a frequent featured speaker at civil rights demonstrations, including the infamous March on Washington in 1963, and frequently engaged in picket lines. Robinson wrote passionately about social problems, sports, and family life as a nationally syndicated columnist for the New York Post and the New York Amsterdam News, constantly urging people in his neighborhood to get involved in politics and business.
Robinson co-founded the Freedom National Bank of Harlem in 1964, a Black-owned and run bank established specifically to assist African-American communities financially. In 1970, he established the Jackie Robinson Building Company to create low-income homes.
Jackie Robinson had a huge impact on many people’s lives
As a result of Jackie Robinson’s passing, his widow, Rachel Robinson, assumed the role of president of the Jackie Robinson Construction Corporation, which was then renamed the Jackie Robinson Development Corporation. The firm, which was in charge of constructing 1,600 apartments, specialized in the construction of homes for those with low to moderate incomes.
Mrs. Jackie Robinson established the Jackie Robinson Foundation in 1973 in remembrance of her late husband with the help of Martin L. Edelman, Charles Williams, and Franklin H. Williams. Mrs. Robinson did this in honor of her late husband (JRF). JRF, which serves as Robinson’s living legacy, gives four-year scholarships and a number of other support services to bright college students who have little financial means.
These support services include career counseling, internship placement, and chances for leadership development. There have been 1,700 college scholars who have benefited from JRF’s Scholars Program up to this point. These college scholars come from 45 different states and have attended 260 different schools and institutions.
Three different Presidents have presented awards in recognition of Jackie Robinson’s accomplishments: During the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s historic entry into baseball, President William J. Clinton led a ceremony with Major League Baseball to honor his number “42” in perpetuity; on March 26, 1984, President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and Jackie Robinson’s number “42” was retired by Major League Baseball.
Jackie Robinson was posthumously given the Congressional Gold Medal on October 10, 2003. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor that may be presented by the United States Congress. Rachel Robinson was given the honor during a ceremony that took place in the Capitol Rotunda on March 2, 2005. The event was presided over by President George W. Bush and was attended by the leadership of the United States Congress.
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