Jackie Robinson’s UCLA career
On Jan. 31, we not only celebrate Jackie Robinson’s birthday but his incredible legacy of breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball (MLB). Robinson is one of UCLA’s most notable alumnus not just because of his achievements after graduating, but for his extraordinary performance as a quadruple-athlete during his time at UCLA.
Keep reading for more information about Jackie Robinson’s UCLA career.
Although Robinson is now widely known for his career in the MLB, 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.
Even off the baseball field, Robinson fought tirelessly against segregation and systemic racism in the United States. Robinson was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and even served as chair on the NAACP’s Freedom Fund Drive in 1957. After Robinson's death, his widow, Rachel Robinson, carried on his legacy of empowering people of color and founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which provides scholarships to minority youths for higher education.
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.
