Anyone who knows Jackie Robinson. Born on Jan. 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgie, he became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era, representing the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 until 1956.
Robinson’s baseball achievements are the stuff of legend. He won the first Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was selected as an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 until 1954, and won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1949, making him the first Black player to achieve the honor. Robinson also played in six World Series and was part of the Dodgers team that won the 1955 World Series. In 1962, Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sadly, he ed away on Oct. 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut. He was only 53. He died of a heart attack, having also suffered one four years earlier. At the time of his death, he had heart disease and diabetes and was almost blind.
Away from baseball, Robinson had a family. He was married to professor and ed nurse Rachel Robinson (née Isum), and the couple had three children: Jackie Robinson Jr. (born in 1946), Sharon Robinson (born in 1950), and David Robinson (born in 1952). But what happened to them?
What happened to Jackie Robinson’s children?
Two of Robinson’s children, daughter Sharon and youngest son David, live relatively ordinary lives. Sharon became a midwife, teacher, and director of educational programming for Major League Baseball and wrote two books about her father (Jackie’s Nine: Jackie Robinson’s Values to Live By: Becoming Your Best Self (2002) and Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America (2004)). David has ten children of his own and works as a coffee grower and social activist in Tanzania, East Africa. However, the story of his oldest son, Jackie Robinson Jr., is far more harrowing.
As per All That’s Interesting, Robinson Jr. died in a catastrophic car accident on June 17, 1971, just 16 months before his father’s ing. Robinson Jr. was only 24 years old. He was traveling toward his parents’ home at high speeds, resulting in him losing control of his car and crashing through a fence and into a bridge near Route 123 on the Merritt Parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Jackie Robinson’s eldest child was born just five months before his father made history by being drafted into Major League Baseball. He endured a troubled life. As a youngster, he suffered emotional issues and was forced to enter special education. In an attempt to experience structure, stability, and discipline, he dropped out of Rippowan High School in Stamford, Connecticut, to enlist in the United States Army and served in the War in Vietnam.
On Nov. 19, 1965, he was wounded in action. Shrapnel struck Robinson Jr. while he attempted to save a fellow soldier from exposure to heavy enemy fire. Sadly, the soldier died. The experience sent his life spiraling out of control. Upon his discharge, he became addicted to using drugs — something many soldiers unfortunately did at the time. He sought help and, following two years of successful treatment at the Daytop Village in Seymour, Connecticut, he became a counselor and assistant director at the institution — roles he had until his untimely ing.
His son’s trouble with drugs turned Jackie Robinson Sr. into a keen and determined anti-drug crusader toward the end of his life, encouraging education about the subject to young people.
We hope both Jackie Robinson Jr. and his legendary father are resting in eternal peace.
Published: Nov 11, 2024 08:26 am