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Jackie Robinson spent two years at UCLA. Then he left without getting his degree.
He believed that no amount of education would help an African American get a job. He also wanted to earn money to help his mother. He became an assistant athletic director for the National Youth Administration (NYA). Then the NYA was shut down. Jackie’s next job was playing football with the Honolulu Bears. He played one season for them. He was headed back to California when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. That caused the U.S. to enter World War II.
◀ In 1942, the army drafted Jackie Robinson and sent him to Fort Riley, Kansas. He was put into a cavalry unit. Some soldiers in the unit rode horses. Others operated tanks. After basic training, Robinson applied to Officers Candidate School (OCS). He and some other African Americans passed all the tests, but OCS wouldn’t let them in. Jackie also couldn’t play any sports at the army base. Some white players didn’t want him on a team.
▲ At Fort Riley, Robinson met heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis, who had volunteered to serve his country. Louis and Robinson became good friends. One story says that Louis helped Robinson and the other African Americans get into OCS. That may or may not be true. But after three months of waiting, the men started school. In 1943, Jackie Robinson graduated from OCS. He became a second lieutenant.
◀ Robinson went back to California whenever he could to see Rachel Isum. She was still studying at UCLA. After he became a second lieutenant, they announced their engagement.
▲ Then Jackie Robinson was sent to Fort Hood, Texas. On July 6, 1944, a white driver told him to move to the back of an army bus. Robinson knew the army had just banned segregated buses on bases. He would not move. When the driver called the military police, Robinson stood up for his rights. He was accused of being disrespectful. Then he was given a military trial. In the end, the charges were dropped, and the army gave Robinson an honorable discharge.
◀ In the army, he’d met a man who played for a Negro leagues baseball team, the Kansas City Monarchs. He talked Robinson into trying out for the team. In 1945, the Monarchs signed Robinson. Some of the best players in the leagues were his teammates. One of them was Satchel Paige.
Robinson was glad to play baseball again, and the pay wasn’t bad. But there were a lot of things he didn’t like. They traveled a lot. Not many hotels and restaurants would accept African Americans. Also, the teams didn’t play on the West Coast, and he missed Rachel. ▶
▲ In 1945, Boston threatened to enforce a law. Pro baseball teams had to try to add African American players. If they didn’t, they couldn’t play on Sundays. The Boston Red Sox asked Jackie Robinson and two other Negro league players to try out. They all played well, especially Robinson, but the men knew they wouldn’t be asked to join the team.
