Jackie Robinson's Real Name: Jack Roosevelt Robinson

Quick answer: Jackie Robinson's documented full name is Jack Roosevelt Robinson. Encyclopaedia Britannica and the National Baseball Hall of Fame record that he was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, and that he died on October 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut. In 1947 he became the first Black player in the modern major leagues when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers (Britannica; National Baseball Hall of Fame).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress heading is "Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972," with the variant "Robinson, Jack Roosevelt, 1919-1972." Britannica gives the byname Jack Roosevelt Robinson. Reared in Pasadena, California, he became an outstanding all-around athlete at Pasadena Junior College and UCLA, excelling in football, basketball, and track as well as baseball. Britannica says he withdrew from UCLA in his third year to help his mother care for the family and later entered the U.S. Army in 1942, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in 1943. In 1944 he faced a court-martial for refusing an order to sit at the back of a military bus; the charges were dismissed, and he received an honorable discharge.

Career highlights

After the army, Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League. Branch Rickey, president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed him on October 23, 1945, to the Montreal Royals, a Dodgers farm team. Robinson led the International League in batting average in 1946 and was brought up to Brooklyn in 1947. On April 15 of that year he broke Major League Baseball's color line. He played as an infielder and outfielder for the Dodgers from 1947 through 1956. In his first season he led the National League in stolen bases and received MLB's inaugural Rookie of the Year award. In 1949 he won the batting championship and the National League Most Valuable Player award. Britannica and the Hall of Fame also record six All-Star selections, a World Series championship, and his 1962 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A Library of Congress citation to the official Jackie Robinson site likewise records the Cairo birth, the Stamford death, and the full name Jack Roosevelt Robinson.

Death

Britannica and the Hall of Fame record that Robinson died on October 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut.

Name notes for searchers

Jack Roosevelt Robinson is the documented full name; he was known as Jackie Robinson. Searchers looking for the Brooklyn Dodgers pioneer who integrated the major leagues in 1947 are usually aiming at the same person.