Page 24 - Sports Illustrated KIDS Magazine (January - February 2020)

history

Jackie Robinson made history in 1947 when he became the
first African-American to play in the majors since the
1880s. But anyone who saw him when he was a student at
UCLA a few years earlier would have been shocked that
baseball was the sport in which Robinson became a legend.
Robinson was a four-sport star at Pasadena Junior
College for two years. In 1939, he enrolled at UCLA. He

became the first—and still only—Bruins athlete to letter in
four sports. On the football field, he twice led the nation in
punt returns and was the team’s leading rusher and passer
in 1940. (One of his teammates, Kenny Washington, broke
the NFL’s color barrier in 1946.)
On the basketball court, Robinson led the Southern
Division of the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring in
each of his two seasons. He was also a member of the FROM TOP: MARK RUCKER/TRANSCENDENTAL GRAPHICS/GETTY IMAGES; BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; ARCHIVE PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES;
track team, winning the NCAA championship in the long
jump. Had the 1940 and ’44 Olympics not been canceled
due to World War II, he most likely would have competed
for the U.S.
On the diamond, though, it was a different story.
Robinson got off to a fantastic start, getting four hits and
stealing four bases in his first game. But he finished his
only season with the Bruins with a meager .097 batting BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES (OPPOSITE PAGE)
average. It was a far cry from the Hall of Fame stroke he
would display in the majors!
Despite his struggles with the Bruins, UCLA named its

baseball field Jackie Robinson Stadium in 1981.