Biography of jackie robinson life magazine

Written By: Ben Cosgrove

When Jack Roosevelt Robinson stepped onto Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947, he not only changed the face of professional baseball in America. In ways subtle and profound ways, he changed the nation itself.

Breaking baseball’s color barrier, Robinson embarked on an odyssey that brought him renown, respect and, by all accounts, an early death, at 53, from the unimaginable stress he suffered, on and off the field, as the first black player in the major leagues.

For most of Jackie Robinson’s long journey, LIFE magazine was there, chronicling his baseball triumphs including Brooklyn’s only World Series title, in 1955, and his life and achievements away from the diamond.

Here, LIFE.com offers a selection of pictures that paint a portrait of a man possessed of rare dignity, competitive fire and grace under pressure .

In 1950, when LIFE covered the filming of the movie version of his life, The Jackie Robinson Story (in which R