Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson broke through Major League Baseball's racist color barrier and went on to a storied career as a ballplayer, businessman and a living embodiment of defiance of America's institutional apartheid. Robinson raised eyebrows as a multisport phenomenon growing up in Southern California and went on to letter in four sports at UCLA. After a stint in the U.S. Army during World War II, he played professional baseball for the American Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs. His performance drew the attention of Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey, who, boldly looking for new talents among long-banned African-American players, made Robinson a Dodger in the spring of 1947. Though Robinson would suffer relentless bigotry, his composure and skills bore out as he took the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award. A slugger and constant threat to steal bases, he won the National League MVP in 1949 and became a cultural phenomenon, even starring in his own biopic the next year. He helped the Dodgers to six World Series appearances and eventually a title win over longtime rivals the New York Yankees, in 1955. He remained an outspoken advocate for racial equality and in the 1960s helped found the African-American-owned Freedom National Bank in New York and became the first African-American analyst of national baseball broadcasts. In 1997, MLB retired Robinson's No. 42 jersey in every team in the league, a tribute to a player whose name and struggle would transcend sports.