Jackie Robinson jersey
UCLA, Major League Baseball and beyond
The Jackie Robinson jersey number was not always 42 and Robinson was not always just a baseball player. As a UCLA student, he was the first UCLA athlete to letter in four sports: football, basketball, track and field, and baseball. Photos from Robinson’s UCLA years show that his jersey numbers were 28 (football) and 18 (basketball).
Although Robinson is now widely known for breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1947, football was Robinson’s most notable sport at UCLA. According to a NCAA article, Robinson earned “all Pac-10 honors in football and set the UCLA record for yards per carry in a season at 12.2 yards per attempt on 42 carries in 1939.” He also led the country in punt return average in the 1939 and 1940 seasons.
Robinson also excelled in basketball, and track and field: according to UCLA Athletics, he “led the Southern Division of the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring in both 1940 (12.4 average in 12 league games) and 1941 (11.1 average in 12 league games) and was named the West Coast Conference MVP in basketball.” In track and field, Robinson won the NCAA title in the long jump with a record-breaking leap of 25-0.
Ironically, baseball was Robinson’s weakest sport at UCLA — he hit .097 in his only season. According to a UCLA Athletics article, Robinson’s best college baseball game might have been his first at UCLA, where he had four hits and stole four bases.
However, Robinson went on to become one of the most notable figures in baseball. He was the first African American to play in MLB since the 1880s. During his 10-year MLB career (1947-1956), Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons (1949-1954) and became the first Black player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award. He played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship. Both on-and-off the baseball field, Robinson fought tirelessly against segregation and systemic racism in the United States until his death in 1972.
Robinson continues to be a revered figure in professional baseball. In 1997, MLB retired the Jackie Robinson jersey number 42 across all major league teams. MLB has also observed a tradition called "Jackie Robinson Day" every April 15 dating back to 2004, in which every player on every MLB team wears number 42 — Robinson’s jersey number.
UCLA has also honored Robinson’s legacy. In 1981, the school named its new baseball stadium after the iconic baseball player, and Jackie Robinson Stadium remains the home of the Bruin baseball and softball team. Robinson was also a charter member of the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.
Read more about Jackie Robinson’s legacy at UCLA through the links below:
