On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson stepped onto Ebbets Field for his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was the beginning of an unparalleled career in baseball. At the end of his explosive nine years as a Dodger, his record included a .311 batting average, 137 home runs, 734 runs batted in, and 197 stolen bases. In 1955, he helped the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win their first World Series Championship. Robinson took home the Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, the Most Valuable Player Award in 1949, and in 1962 became the first African American inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Following Robinson’s death, Rachel Robinson became President of the Jackie Robinson Construction Corporation and renamed the company the Jackie Robinson Development Corporation. The company, responsible for building 1,600 units, specialized in building low-to-moderate income housing.
In 1973, with the assistance of Martin L. Edelman, Charles Williams and Franklin H. Williams, Mrs. Robinson honored her husband's memory by establishing The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF). As Robinson’s living legacy, JRF provides four-year scholarships and a host of support services, including career guidance, internship placement, and leadership development opportunities to talented college students with limited financial resources. To date, 1,700 college scholars from 45 states who have attended 260 colleges and universities have benefitted from JRF’s Scholars Program.
Jackie Robinson’s achievements have been honored by three Presidents: On March 26, 1984, President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom; during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic entry into baseball, President William J. Clinton led a ceremony with Major League Baseball to honor his number "42" in perpetuity; and on October 10, 2003, the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award bestowed by Congress, was awarded posthumously to Jackie Robinson. President George W. Bush and the leadership of the United States Congress presented the award to Rachel Robinson during a ceremony held in the Capitol Rotunda on March 2, 2005.
Jackie Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award during the trailblazing 1947 season in which he batted .297, scored 125 runs, hit 12 home runs and 31 doubles and led the league with 29 stolen bases while helping the Brooklyn Dodgers to the World Series. The Rookie of the Year Award was originally known as the J. Louis Comiskey Award and was a single award for the Major Leagues. In 1949, the award was expanded to include both the American League Rookie of the Year and the National League Rookie of the Year. In 1987, the award was renamed the Jackie Robinson Award.
Robinson garnered 264 of 336 points from the Baseball Writer’s Association and was named the 1949 National League’s Most Valuable Player. A dominant figure on the field that year, he played all 156 games, and was the National League’s batting and base stealing champion; was second in hits (203) runs batted in (124), doubles (38), triples (12); and third in runs scored (122). He would lead the Dodgers to the World Series where they lost to the Yankees in five games.
Jackie Robinson led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six World Series, with the team eventually winning the championship in 1955 against their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees. Appearing in six games, Robinson went 4-for-22 with one double, one triple, one RBI, two walks and famously stole home base during game one of the series.
Five years after retiring from baseball Robinson was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. He and his co-inductee Bob Feller were the first, first-ballot electees by the Baseball Writer’s Association since the inaugural class in 1936. Among his many accomplishments were his .311 batting average, 197 stolen bases, scoring more than 100 runs a year, six times and his six All Star game appearances.
On April 15, 1997, to mark the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s barrier breaking feat, MLB Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Jr. joined by Rachel Robinson and President Bill Clinton, announced the retirement of Robinson’s number “42” throughout baseball in a nationally televised ceremony. Beginning in 2007, all MLB personnel wear the number “42” on April 15th to commemorate Robinson’s contributions to sport and society.