It is not news that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, claiming his own day each season with every player donning his famous number 42 in tribute to his stature as MLB’s first African-American player. What some may not know is Robinson’s role in also integrating college football as a halfback at UCLA from 1939-40. Joining halfback Kenny Washington and end Woody Strode, Robinson became part of a trio as one of the first primarily black backfields in college football history.
Born Jan. 31, 1919, Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson was the youngest of five in a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Ga. The following year, the Robinsons moved across the country to Pasadena, Calif. Deprived of many recreational opportunities growing up, Jackie’s older brothers persuaded him to pursue his interest in sports as a student at John Muir High School. He played shortstop and catcher on the baseball team, quarterback on the football team and guard on the basketball team. He also competed on the track and field and tennis teams. As a juggernaut athlete, his laundry list of accomplishments included winning the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament and earning a place on the Pomona Annual Baseball Tournament All-Star team, alongside future MLB Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bob Lemon.
Robinson continued his athletic pursuits at Pasadena Junior College, competing on the baseball, football, basketball and track squads. An All-Southland Junior College selection, he served as the leadoff hitter for the baseball team, and he was selected as the region’s Most Valuable Player. Robinson also broke his brother Mack’s school records in the broad jump. In 1938, he was one of 10 students named to the school's Order of the Mast and Dagger, awarded to students performing "outstanding service to the school and whose scholastic and citizenship record is worthy of recognition." After the death of his older brother Frank, Jackie decided to transfer to UCLA to be closer to Frank’s family.
Arriving on the UCLA campus, Robinson joined Washington, who was the Bruins’ golden-boy. In addition to being a star on the gridiron, Washington excelled on the baseball diamond as well, batting .454 in 1937 and .350 in 1938. However, Robinson quickly raised the bar, becoming the first student-athlete in school history to letter in four sports (baseball, basketball, football and track). Washington and Strode, both entering their senior season in 1939, were poised to earn a spot in the 1940 Rose Bowl as the capstone to their collegiate careers. The addition of Robinson to the backfield appeared to be just what the Bruins needed to achieve the goal.
UCLA, ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, entered their season finale against rival USC, then No. 3 in the country, with a Rose Bowl berth on the line in one of the biggest games in the rivalry’s history. The Bruins knocked the Trojans out of national title contention with a 0-0 stalemate, but USC earned the Rose Bowl berth, going on to defeat No. 2 Tennessee 14-0 in front of 92,200 fans.
The recipient of the 1939 Douglas Fairbanks Trophy as the most outstanding player in college football, Washington finished as the nation’s leader in total offense, becoming the first Consensus All-American in school history. With one final baseball season to play at UCLA, Washington continued to excel as a hitter, including reports that ranked him higher than Robinson in some offensive categories. Rumors spread that the Brooklyn Dodgers offered to sign Washington before Robinson with the condition that he spend a year living in Puerto Rico to pass him off as a Puerto Rican citizen, which Washington refused.
Nearing the end of their collegiate careers, Washington and Strode aspired to continue playing football at the professional level. The Chicago Bears attempted to sign Washington, but after other NFL owners blocked the transaction, Washington and Strode began playing for the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL). Robinson also competed in the PCPFL with the Los Angeles Bulldogs. Robinson and Strode did not play long before they were drafted into the U.S. Army after the breakout of World War II. Washington was later drafted near the end of the war to assist in freeing Jewish prisoners from German concentration camps.
The post-World War II era was not only a momentous time for the world, but for American sports, thanks in part to the UCLA trio. Shortly after the end of the war, Robinson signed a contract with the Montreal Royals, an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers. On April 18, 1946, he became the first African-American to appear in an International League game. That same spring, the Los Angeles Rams signed Washington and Strode to contracts that would make them the first black players in the National Football League. Although neither had a significant NFL career, the impact they had on the integration of the league proved ever-present.
Approximately a year after he broke the minor league color barrier, Robinson made his major league debut with the Dodgers in a 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves. He made a quick impact on the league, earning Rookie of the Year honors following the 1947 season. As a result of Robinson’s success in the league, a number of African-Americans were signed to MLB squads. In 1949, he was named the league MVP and the starting second baseman for the MLB All-Star Game. Robinson was selected to the All-Star Game every year from 1949-54 and helped the Dodgers to a World Series title in 1955. During his 10-year professional career with Brooklyn, he hit .311 with 137 homeruns, 734 runs batted in and 197 stolen bases. Robinson was elected into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1962.
Following retirement, Robinson served as a sportscaster for ABC’s MLB Game of the Week and the Montreal Expos before becoming the first African-American vice president of a major U.S. corporation as the vice president for personnel at Chock full o'Nuts. The Dodgers retired his jersey in 1972, and in 1997, his number 42 became the only numerals to be retired by the entire league. In conjunction with UCLA, the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Committee, the number 42 is also retired within the Rose Bowl. Robinson passed away of diabetes and heart failure on Oct. 24, 1972 at the age of 53. The National Football Foundation posthumously recognized his many accomplishments, presenting him the NFF Gold Medal, the organization’s highest honor, in 1997.
Washington served as a longtime police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, and he was inducted into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum "Court of Honor.” In 1956, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired by UCLA. Washington passed away in 1971 at the age of 52. After winning a Grey Cup Championship with the Calgary Stampeders and a stint as a professional wrestler, Strode enjoyed a successful career as an actor, earning a Golden-Globe nomination for his role in the movie “Spartacus” and appearances in numerous Westerns. He passed away in 1994 at the age of 80.
