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2nd Lt.U.S. Army · 761st Tank Battalion

Baseball · Brooklyn Dodgers

b. 31 Jan 1919 · Cairo, Georgia · d. 24 Oct 1972

The first Black player in modern Major League Baseball was, three years earlier, a second lieutenant who would not move to the back of an Army bus.

OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL, FORT RILEY · 2ND LIEUTENANT, U.S. ARMYACQUITTED AT GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL, 2 AUGUST 1944 · HONORABLE DISCHARGEBROOKLYN DODGERS 1947–56 · NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME, 1962
Jackie Robinson stealing home for the Brooklyn Dodgers
2nd Lt. Jackie Robinson in U.S. Army officer's uniform

TWO UNIFORMS

Stealing home · Brooklyn Dodgers

REC · JACKIE · DOSSIER

Service record

  1. 01

    Drafted 1942 · Officer Candidate School, Fort Riley, Kansas · commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, January 1943

  2. 02

    Assigned to the 761st Tank Battalion — the "Black Panthers" — at Camp Hood, Texas

  3. 03

    6 July 1944: refused to move to the back of an Army bus · general court-martial 2 Aug 1944 · acquitted on all charges · honorably discharged November 1944

Did you know

Joe Louis helped get Robinson into Officer Candidate School (VA). The 761st went on to fight across Europe and reached the Gunskirchen camp on 4 May 1945 — Robinson, discharged the previous November, never deployed with them. On 15 April 1947 he broke Major League Baseball's color line.

BIRTHDAY

January 31

FOR RESEARCH PROJECTS

Observances

  • JAN 31Jackie Robinson born, 1919
  • APR 15Jackie Robinson Day — the debut, 1947
  • MAY 3Sugar Ray Robinson born, 1921
  • AUG 6David Robinson born, 1965
  • NOV 11Veterans Day
  • LAST MON · MAYMemorial Day

Personal timeline · birth → service → career → honors

  1. 31 Jan 1919

    Born in Cairo, Georgia, to a family of sharecroppers; the family moves to Pasadena, California, in 1920.

  2. 1939–41

    Four varsity sports at UCLA, including a national championship in track.

  3. 1942

    Drafted into the Army; sent to Fort Riley, Kansas. With Joe Louis's help, accepted into Officer Candidate School.

  4. Jan 1943

    Commissioned a second lieutenant. Transferred to Camp Hood, Texas, and the 761st Tank Battalion — the Black Panthers.

  5. 6 Jul 1944

    Refuses a driver's order to move to the back of an Army bus at Camp Hood. Arrested and charged.

  6. 2 Aug 1944

    Trial by general court-martial begins at 13:45. Acquitted on all charges after four and a half hours of testimony.

  7. Nov 1944

    Honorably discharged after serving as an athletic coach at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky. He never served overseas.

  8. 1945

    Plays for the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs.

  9. 1946

    Signs with the Dodgers' AAA affiliate, the Montreal Royals: .349 average, 40 stolen bases.

  10. 15 Apr 1947

    National League debut at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field. Every 15 April, all of baseball wears 42.

  11. 1962

    Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

  12. 24 Oct 1972

    Dies in Stamford, Connecticut.

The archive · from Kevin Clark’s collection

Robinson in uniform.

Photographs of Jackie Robinson in U.S. Army service, before the world knew his name. Shown at the size they were scanned.

Studio portrait of 2nd Lt. Jackie Robinson in U.S. Army officer's service cap and coat, crossed-saber Cavalry insignia on the collar
2nd Lt. Robinson · CavalryCollection of Kevin Clark
Jackie Robinson seated in officer's service coat, bare-headed, smiling toward the camera
Seated · officer's service coatCollection of Kevin Clark
Jackie Robinson standing indoors in full officer's uniform — dark blouse, light trousers, Cavalry collar insignia
Full uniform · indoorsCollection of Kevin Clark
A Black U.S. Army officer mounted on a horse in service cap, riding breeches and boots, outside a barracks building
Mounted · Cavalry, Fort RileyCollection of Kevin Clark
A Black soldier in garrison cap and service coat running across a parade ground carrying a bolt-action rifle at port arms
Training · before his commissionCollection of Kevin Clark
Officer Candidate School class photograph at Fort Riley, Kansas — twenty-two men in fatigues, each face numbered
Officer Candidate School class · Fort Riley, KansasCourtesy of Fort Riley · neg. B-457-4

Related films · Kevin Clark's channel

Jackie Robinson on film.

4:46 · 7 SEP 2026 · KEVIN CLARK

Victory by Valor — Trailer

The marquee. From segregation to celebration.

HERO · Victory by Valor — poster

11:36 · 8 MAY 2021 · KEVIN CLARK

HERO · Victory by Valor

The long-form cut.

2nd Lt. Jackie Robinson, Tank Commander, 761st — poster

1:00 · 16 OCT 2025 · KEVIN CLARK

2nd Lt. Jackie Robinson, Tank Commander, 761st

A Did-You-Know vignette.

Sources for this dossier

  1. 01VA · Veteran of the Day: Army Veteran Jackie Robinson
  2. 02National WWII Museum · United States v. 2LT Jack R. Robinson
  3. 03National Baseball Hall of Fame · Jackie Robinson

Anything marked [verify] has not yet been confirmed against a primary source. Full ledger on the Scholars page.