Arizona State University 1960s
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Reginald “Reggie” Martinez Jackson was born on May 18, 1946 in Abington, Pennsylvania. He grew up in the nearby town of Wyncote, a suburb fifteen miles north of Philadelphia. Jackson was one of six children born to Martinez and Clara Jackson. His mother moved out after divorcing his father when Jackson was little, taking three of his siblings with her. Jackson was raised by his father, a World War II veteran, who ran a tailoring and dry-cleaning business. The house that Jackson grew up in was a two-story structure that was both his home and his father’s business. Jackson’s Puerto Rican heritage comes from his father, who was half-Puerto Rican. His father also played second base for the Newark Eagles of the Negro League.
Jackson was one of the few black families growing up in the predominately white Jewish neighborhood of Wyncote. Although Jackson isn’t Jewish, the religion had a large impact on him. Growing up in Wyncote, most of his friends, teachers, and coaches were Jewish. Jackson said he related to Jews because they went through “bigotry and social ostracism similar to what blacks went through” (Jackson 59). During his career, Jackson’s respect for the Jewish community was evident when joined his Jewish teammates, Ken Holtzman and Mike Epstein, in wearing black armbands to pay tribute to the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympics. Jackson attended Cheltenham High School, where he excelled at football, baseball, basketball, and track. He accepted a scholarship to play football at Arizona State. After playing both football and baseball his freshman year, he decided to only play baseball his sophomore year. After his second year, Jackson left college to turn pro, joining the Kansas City Athletics. Reggie Jackson was born right after World War II ended. Following the war, the U.S. underwent a post war “boom”. Behind a thriving economy, people were now moving to suburbs. Jackson grew up with the Cold War and anti-Communism sentiment in America. African-American equal rights and desegregation were also taking off when Jackson was young. Jackie Robinson debuted in 1947 for the Dodgers, just one year after Jackson was born. The Little Rock Nine fought to end segregation and the Civil Rights Movement was making strides led by Martin Luther King Jr. when Jackson was in high school. The year Jackson graduated from high school race riots were occurring in nearby North Philadelphia. Despite the racial tension of the time, Jackson grew up in a white neighborhood and attended schools that were mostly white. Race did have a large impact on Jackson’s college decision. Jackson declined offers to play football at top tier programs including Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, over race issues. Once in the major leagues, Jackson contributed to the rise of African Americans in baseball. |