Jackie RobinsonBefore Major LeagueThis person is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson moved with his mother and brothers to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father abandoned the family. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player in football, basketball, track and baseball; the only athlete in UCLA history to have competed in four different sports. He played with Kenny Washington, who would become one of the first black players in the National Football League since the early 1930s. Robinson also met his future wife, Rachel, at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens. After dropping out of UCLA his senior year, Robinson joined the U.S. Army during World War II. He trained with the segregated U.S. 761st Tank Battalion. He initially refused entry to Officer Candidate School, fought to get it, and was eventually accepted, graduating as a first lieutenant. During training at Fort Hood, Texas, Robinson refused to go to the back of a bus. He was court-martialed for insubordination and thus was never shipped to Europe with his unit. He received an honorable discharge in 1944, after being acquitted of all charges at a court-martial. Jackie played baseball in 1944 for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League where he caught the attention of Clyde Sukeforth, a scout working for Branch Rickey. .Number originally retired June 4, 1972 Retired throughout North American baseball April 15, 1997Jackie RobinsonPosition 2B (748 games)3B (356 games)1B (197 games)OF (162 games)SS (1 game)MLB Seasons 10Team(s) ) Brooklyn Dodgers Debut April 15, 1947 Final Game September 30, 1956 Total Games Batting 1,364 NL Pennants 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956 World Series Teams 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 56 All - All-Star Teams 1949 (2B),1950 (2B),1951 (2B),1952 (2B),1953 (3B),1954 (OF)Rookie of the Year Awards (1947)National League MVP (1949)NL Batting Leader (.342 - 1949)Baseball Hall of Fame (1962) Nickname "Jackie" The Dodgers Branch Rickey was the club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and had the secret goal of signing the best players from the Negro Leagues to the team. Although there was no official ban on blacks in organized baseball, previous attempts to sign black ballplayers had been thwarted in the past by league officials and rival clubs, and so Rickey was operating undercover. His scouts were told that they were looking for players for a new all-black league that Rickey was forming; not even the scouts knew his true objective. Robinson attracted national attention when Rickey chose him from a list of promising candidates and hired him..