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Milestones

• 1919

  Jack Roosevelt Robinson is born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31st. His father leaves the family soon after and "Jackie" Robinson moves to Pasadena, California with his mother and 4 older siblings.

• 1935

  Graduates from Dakota, Junior High School then attends John Muir High School, where he plays on the baseball, basketball, football, tennis and track teams.

• 1936

  Wins the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament.

• 1937

  Attends Pasadena Junior College where he plays on the football and baseball teams and takes part in the broad jump.

• 1938

  Elected to the All-Southland Baseball Junior College team and later honored as the region's Most Valuable Player

• 1939

  Attends UCLA, becoming the first student to earn a varsity letter in all four teams: baseball, basketball, football and track.

• 1941

  Drops out of UCLA for financial reasons and travels to Honolulu to play football for the integrated, semi-professional Honolulu Bears. He returns to the U.S. mainland on December 5th, before the Pearl Harbor attack.

• 1942

  Drafted into the U.S. Army and promoted from Private to Second Lieutenant the next year.

• 1944

  Court-martialed for refusing to sit in the back of a segregated military bus. He is later acquitted and honorably discharged from the Army.

• 1945

  Plays shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Baseball League.
Recruited to the minor league Montreal Royals as second baseman by Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• 1946

  Marries Rachel Annetta Isum, a nursing student he met at UCLA, in Los Angeles on February 10th.
• Debuts with the Montreal Royals on April 18th.
• Son, Jackie Jr., is born on November 18th.

• 1947

  Recruited to play for the Major League Brooklyn Dodgers, making his debut on April 15th. He is honored with the Rookie of the Year Award.

• 1948

  Inducted into UCLA's Hall of Fame on June 10th.

• 1949

  Honored with the Most Valuable Player Award.

• 1950

  Daughter, Sharon Robinson, is born on January 13th.
• Stars as himself in his biopic film "The Jackie Robinson Story"

• 1952

  Son, David Robinson is born on May 14th.
• Opens a Men's clothing store in Harlem, NY.

• 1956

  Traded to the NewYork Giants.
• Honored with the NAACP Spingarn Medal.

• 1957

  Announces his retirement from baseball before spring training begins.
• Accepts the position of Vice-President of community relations at Chock Full O' Nuts, serving until 1964.

• 1958

  Serves as spokesperson and fundraiser for the NAACP.

• 1962

  Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 23rd.

• 1963

  Participates in the civil rights protest with Martin Luther King Jr. and other notable leaders for the four little girls killed in a church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.

• 1964

  Helps found and serve as board chairman for the Freedom National Bank, a minority-owned commercial bank based in Harlem.
• Named as one of the National Directors of New York Governor, Nelson Rockefeller's presidential campaign.

• 1966

  Appointed as Special Assistant to Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

• 1970

  Forms the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to build low and moderate-income housing.

• 1972

  Throws out the first pitch at the World Series to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his debut in the Major Leagues on October 14th.
• Jackie Robinson dies from heart problems and complications from diabetes at the age of 53 on October 24th in Stamford, Connecticut.

• 1973

  Rachel Robinson establishes the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which honors the baseball legend and provides education and leadership opportunities for young people.