Читать книгу Jackie Robinson онлайн

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Because of his success, when he decided to move on to a university, the Los Angeles Times said he was the “juiciest plum of the 1939 crop of college-bound athletes.” He chose the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) because he wanted to stay near his home.

He was just as successful at the university as he was in high school and junior college. In his two years of football there he led all college players in the country in punt return average. In basketball, he led the conference in scoring in 1939 and 1940. In track, he won the national college broad jump championship. Many predicted he would win the gold medal in that event in the 1940 Olympics. Sadly, the games were canceled when World War II spread through Europe.

Jackie left UCLA early in 1941 and played professional football in Hawaii and California before joining the army as a lieutenant after the United States entered the war. There, he ran into more examples of racism.

Before joining the army, he had a weak ankle because it broke twice while playing football. In the army, he hurt it again in training. The doctors found he had bone spurs and arthritis and sent him to therapy. One day, riding a bus to the hospital for treatment, he sat in the middle of the bus instead of the back where black people were supposed to sit. He sat beside the wife of a friend. She was black but light-skinned. The bus driver ordered Jackie to move to the back of the bus. He accused Jackie of speaking to a white woman, something many thought black men should not do.