Jackson Creek Middle School
American Heroes: Jackie Robinson
Life Before the Major Leagues
Father: Jerry Robinson - left the
family six months after his fifth child, Jackie, was born. He ran
off with another woman.
Mother: Mallie Robinson
- was left by her husband and struggled to raise five children.
Brothers: Edgar -
oldest, Frank - next oldest, and Mack - third oldest
Sister: Willa Mae - only
girl, fourth oldest child
After his father left, his mother decided to move the family out to California. Jackie was only sixteen months old. When they got to California, they lived with his mother's brother, Burton. Before they arrived at California, his mother had made arrangements to find other living conditions because Burton's house would be over-crowded, so Jackie's mother took a job washing and ironing clothes. There was not enough money from her job though, so she went to welfare for help. Welfare added to her salary which barely made enough to keep them alive. The family, at times, did not have enough food to eat, and his mother would bring home scraps from her job to feed them.
His mother was a very busy person, and she always went to work before sunrise, and always returned from work late. When she was home, she was usually exhausted, but she still made the energy to help her kids and take care of them. One time, a girl in the neighborhood had run up to Jackie and called him "Nigger, nigger, nigger". He had retaliated by calling her "cracker". When he called her that, she went and told her father and he stormed out of the house. He and Jackie had a stone-throwing fight until the father's wife came out and took her husband inside. From then on, all the white people in the neighborhood signed a petition to get them thrown out of the neighborhood. Jackie's mother stood her ground and would not make anybody force them to leave.
Since Jackie had a lot of free time, he had some jobs. He had a paper route, he cut lawns, and he ran errands for people. The rest of the time that he had free, he stole things from stores. He mostly stole food. He was also a member of the Pepper Street gang. The gang did not contain any white members, it only had Japanese, Mexicans, and blacks. All the kids in the gang came from poor families and had a lot of free time.
Later in his life, he went to John Muir Technical High and earned letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He went to UCLA and was the university's first four-letter student. Even though he was asked by the university board to stay, and was even offered financial support, he only went to college for two years because he had used up all his athletic eligibility.
After college, Jackie signed up to play baseball for the Honolulu Bears, a minor league team. After the season, Jackie made plans to go back to California and visit his mother and his bride-to-be, Rachel. The ship that he was traveling on left the dock at Pearl Harbor on December 5, 1941, two days before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
After he arrived in California, he heard that the Army was drafting, and being a good American, he went and signed up. When he got the call to join the Army, he was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas for Basic Training. After he was done with basic training, he was put into a cavalry outfit.
Later, he applied to Officers' Candidate School along with some other black candidates. For three months, they were kept waiting. When they asked why they had to wait so long, they could not get any answers. When Joe Louis was transferred to Fort Riley, they told him about what was happening to them. Joe contacted some powerful people in the Government and had them put pressure on the camp. Then the camp allowed the men to enter the Officers' Candidate School. In January of 1943, Jackie was made a second lieutenant.
By: Chris H.
Last Updated: January 03, 2001
