Image via Complex Original
Friday is Jackie Robinson Day, and while most of us recognize him as the first black Major League Baseball player, he also did other notably badass things you may not know about.
The Brooklyn Dodgers first put Robinson on the field on April 15, 1947—exactly 69 years ago. In 1962, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
But the path to fame wasn't an easy road for the second baseman, who faced—and fought—racist backlash from baseball fans, the U.S. government, and even his own teammates along the way.
Here are three facts you may not have heard about the baseball star:
1. When he fought resistance from his teammates
When Robinson first joined The Dodgers, his team didn't exactly welcome him, and neither did the American public.
In fact, several Dodgers members signed a petition to kick him off the team due to his race.
Other teams also resisted the sport's racial integration. The Philadelphia Phillies threatened to boycott a 1947 game against The Dodgers if Robinson played. The boycott didn't disband until the baseball commissioner threatened to ban the participating players.
By then, some of Robinson's own teammates had come around. Eddie Stanky, who initially signed the petition, told the Phillies, "Not one of you has the guts of a louse.''
Robinson also faced letters containing death threats, racist slurs from fans in the bleachers, and hotels and restaurants refusing to serve him as he traveled for games—but that didn't stop him.
2. When he addressed racism before a U.S. House committee
More than a decade before Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of a bus, Robinson did the same, and he was arrested and court-martialed for it.
In addition, due to the combination of racism and anti-communist sentiments in the U.S. during Robinson's stint with the Dodgers, he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in a hearing on the “communist infiltration of minority groups."
In his testimony, he made a powerful statement about racism.
"White people must realize that the more a Negro hates communism because it opposes democracy, the more he is going to hate any other influence that kills off democracy in this country," he said. "And that goes for racial discrimination in the Army and segregation on trains and buses and job discrimination because of religious beliefs or color or place of birth."
Martin Luther King, Jr. called Robinson a "legend and a symbol in his own time" who ''challenged the dark skies of intolerance and frustration."
3. When he was a businessman and business, man
Robinson's professional accomplishments extended beyond his baseball career.
While he was still on The Dodgers, he starred as himself in the successful 1950 Hollywood film The Jackie Robinson Story.
After his retirement, he became Vice President of the coffee corporation Chock Full O'Nuts.
Then, in 1964, he went on to found and direct Freedom National Bank in Harlem, which become the largest black-operated bank in New York.
But he still wasn't done giving back to his community. In 1970, he created the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to improve housing for African Americans.
As is often the case, Robinson's story is more complex and badass than many people give him credit for, so take this day to read up on the history-making icon and civil rights champion.
