On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African-American player in Major League Baseball when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, to a family of sharecroppers. Growing up, he excelled at sports and attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was the first athlete to letter in four varsity sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. After financial difficulties forced Robinson to drop out of UCLA, he joined the army in 1942 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.. Robinson was court-martialed in 1944for insubordination charges  after protesting racial discrimination by refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus. Ultimately, though, he was honorably discharged.

After the army, Robinson played for shortstop for season in the Negro American League’ Kansas City Monarchs. In 1945, Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, recruited Robinson, who was known for his integrity and intelligence as well as his talent, to join one of the club’s farm teams. Robinson joined the Dodgers’ farm team, the Montreal Royals, and went on to lead the league in batting.

On April 15^th, 1947, Robinson was called up to the Majors and made his Major League debut against the Boston Braves in front of a crowd of more than 25,000 spectators. He quickly became a star infielder and outfielder for the Dodgers, as well as the National League’s Rookie of the Year. In 1949, the right-hander was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player and league batting champ. The next year he became the Dodgers’ highest paid player, earning a salary of $35,000. Robinson played on the National League All-Star team from 1949 through 1954 and led the Dodgers to six National League pennants and one World Series, in 1955. He retired from baseball after playing his last game on October 10, 1956, with a career batting average of .311, 1,518 hits and 137 home runs.. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility.

Despite his talent and success as a player, Robinson faced tremendous racial discrimination throughout his career, from baseball fans and some fellow players. Additionally, Jim Crow laws prevented Robinson from using the same hotels and restaurants as his teammates while playing in the South.

After retiring from baseball in 1957, Robinson became a businessman and civil rights activist. He died October 24, 1972, at age 53, in Stamford, Connecticut.

Exactly 50 years from that first game, on April 15, 1997, Robinson’s groundbreaking career was honored and his uniform number, 42, was retired from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig in a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City’s Shea Stadium. Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired by all teams in the league.

With an appreciation for courage, ability and integrity, we give you Deputy Dave’s Drink of the Day: the Robinson

Ingredients
1 oz dark rum
1 oz white rum
1/4 – 3/4 oz sugar syrup
1 papaya
1/4 oz limes

Prepare in a blender with crushed ice, and pour into a large highball glass. Serve.

Posted on April 15th, by David in Drink of the Day.

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