Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Georgia and raised by his mother in Pasadena, California, after his father left. He was a brilliant all-round athlete at UCLA, the first to earn letters in four sports there, but left without graduating because there was no money. In the army during the war he was court-martialled for refusing to move to the back of a bus, and acquitted.

In 1945 he was playing for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues when Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, called him in. Rickey wanted to sign a Black player, which no major league team had done in the twentieth century, and he needed one who would take whatever came without retaliating. He spent hours acting out the insults Robinson could expect. Robinson asked whether he wanted a player who was afraid to fight back. Rickey said he wanted one with the guts not to.

Robinson made his debut on 15 April 1947. Some of his own teammates asked to be traded. Opposing players spiked him and pitchers threw at his head. He received death threats by post. He said nothing, played superbly, and was named Rookie of the Year. Two years later he was the league's most valuable player.

After baseball he campaigned for civil rights and became the first Black vice president of a major American corporation. Diabetes and heart disease killed him at 53. His number 42 is retired by every team in the league.