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Jack Roosevelt Robinson, the grandson of a slave, was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of five children. His father deserted the family when Jackie was only six months old. His mother moved the family to California to look for work. (Jackie Robinson, 2001) Jackie displayed extraordinary athletic skills in high school. He excelled at football, basketball, baseball and track. He helped Pasadena Junior College win the Junior College Football Championship and in 1939 became a top running back at the University of California at Los Angeles. He left college before graduating and in 1942 was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was discharged as a lieutenant in 1945 and that same year joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Baseball League.
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