76 Famous Jackie Robinson Quotes About Determination, Respect, And Baseball

If you are on the lookout for famous Jackie Robinson quotes, then you are at the right place. You cannot talk about the history of baseball without including Jackie in the picture. In a period where racial segregation and discrimination were at their peak, he was the first African American professional baseball player to play in Major League Baseball (MLB).  

Even after playing at the world’s prestigious MLB, Jackie Robinson still faced serious challenges in his career. He had fans hurl insults at him simply because he was black; players from opposing teams would intentionally spike him whenever they get the opportunity. It got to the point that even his teammates openly protested against playing with an African American.

Every force was against him yet despite these challenges, Jackie Robinson forged on and eventually became the first black to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Having made a remarkable contribution in the baseball world, we have rounded up his famous quotes. Read below;

76 Famous Jackie Robinson Quotes About Determination, Respect, And Baseball Click To Tweet

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4. Pocket-size cut outs – Compile a list of your favorite quotes in wallet-size fittings. Keep them in your wallet or at the back of your pocket wherever you go. That way, you get to read through them conveniently wherever you go.
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76 Famous Jackie Robinson Quotes About Determination, Respect, And Baseball

1. “Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he’s losing; nobody wants you to quit when you’re ahead.” – Jackie Robinson

2. “Above anything else, I hate to lose.” – Jackie Robinson

3. “The black press, some liberal sportswriters, and even a few politicians were banging away at those Jim Crow barriers in baseball. I never expected the walls to come tumbling down in my lifetime.” – Jackie Robinson

4. “But as I write these words now I cannot stand and sing the National Anthem. I have learned that I remain a black in a white world.” – Jackie Robinson

5. “But if Mr. Rickey hadn’t signed me, I wouldn’t have played another year in the black league. It was too difficult. The travel was brutal. Financially, there was no reward. It took everything you make to live off.” – Jackie Robinson

6. “There’s not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.” – Jackie Robinson

7. “It would make everything I worked for meaningless if baseball is integrated but political parties were segregated.” – Jackie Robinson

8. “The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.” – Jackie Robinson

9. “The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time.” – Jackie Robinson

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Jackie Robinson quotes about racism

10. “I want everybody to understand that I am an American Negro first before I am a member of any political party.” – Jackie Robinson

11. “Pop flies, in a sense, are just a diversion for a second baseman. Grounders are his stock trade.” – Jackie Robinson

12. “Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.” – Jackie Robinson

13. “When I look back at what I had to go through in black baseball, I can only marvel at the many black players who stuck it out for years in the Jim Crow leagues because they had nowhere else to go.” – Jackie Robinson

14. “It kills me to lose. If I’m a troublemaker, and I don’t think that my temper makes me one, then it’s because I can’t stand losing. That’s the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first.” – Jackie Robinson

15. “I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” – Jackie Robinson

16. “I’ve been riding on cloud nine since the election (HOF), and I don’t think I’ll ever come down. Today, everything is complete.” – Jackie Robinson

17. “In my opinion, baseball is as big a business as anything there is. It has to be a business, the way it is conducted.” – Jackie Robinson

18. “How you played in yesterday’s game is all that counts.” – Jackie Robinson

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Jackie Robinson quotes about respect

19. “In all my years of baseball, I have always expected to be traded. I never liked the idea.” – Jackie Robinson

20. “I don’t let my mouth say nothin’ my head can’t stand” – Jackie Robinson

21. “United States—and unfairly, I feel—the greatest purveyor of violence on earth.” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

22. “XIX The Influence of Martin Luther King, Jr.” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

23. “I had practiced with the team, and the first scheduled game was with the University of Missouri. They made it quite clear to the Army that they would not play a team with a black player on it. Instead of telling me the truth, the Army gave me leave to go home.” – Jackie Robinson

24. “The colonel replied that he didn’t care how my men had got the job done. He was happy that it had been accomplished. He said that, obviously, no matter how much or how little I knew technically, I was able to get the best out of people I worked with.” – Jackie Robinson

25. “I had no future with the Dodgers, because I was too closely identified with Branch Rickey. After the club was taken over by Walter O’Malley, you couldn’t even mention Mr. Rickey’s name in front of him. I considered Mr. Rickey the greatest human being I had ever known.” – Jackie Robinson

26. “Yell. Heckle. Do anything you want. We came here to play baseball.” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

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Jackie Robinson quotes about determination

27. “I speak to you only as an American who happens to be an American Negro and one who is proud of that heritage. We ask for nothing special. We ask only that we be permitted to compete on an even basis, and if we are not worthy, then the competition shall, per se, eliminate us.” – Jackie Robinson

28. “If I had been white with the things I did, they never would have allowed me to get out of baseball.” – Jackie Robinson

29. “The old Dodgers were something special, but of my teammates overall, there was nobody like Pee Wee Reese for me.” – Jackie Robinson

30. “There was a popular saying once that in the North the white man didn’t care how close the black man came if he didn’t climb too high, and in the South the white man didn’t care how high the black man climbed if he didn’t come too close.” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

31. “After two years at UCLA, I decided to leave. I was convinced that no amount of education would help a black man get a job.” – Jackie Robinson
32. “When I am playing baseball, I give it all that I have on the ball field. When the ball game is over, I certainly don’t take it home. My little girl who is sitting out there wouldn’t know the difference between a third strike and a foul ball. We don’t talk about baseball at home.” – Jackie Robinson
33. “became a swellhead, a wise guy, an “uppity” nigger. When a white player did it, he had spirit. When a black player did it, he was “ungrateful,” an upstart, a” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography
34. “I have always been grateful to Colonel Longley. He proved to me that when people in authority take a stand, good can come out of it.” – Jackie Robinson
35. “I think if we go back and check our record, the Negro has proven beyond a doubt that we have been more than patient in seeking our rights as American citizens.” – Jackie Robinson
36. “Today, Negroes play on every big league club and in every minor league. With millions of other Negroes in other walks of life, we are willing to stand up and be counted for what we believe in. In baseball or out, we are no longer willing to wait until Judgment Day for equality – we want it here on earth as well as in Heaven.” – Jackie Robinson

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Jackie Robinson quotes about breaking the color barrier

37. “I cannot possibly believe that I have it made while so many black brothers and sisters are hungry, inadequately housed, insufficiently clothed, denied their dignity as they live in slums or barely exist on welfare.” – Jackie Robinson
38. “I felt unhappy and trapped. If I left baseball, where could I go, what could I do to earn enough money to help my mother and to marry Rachel? The solution to my problem was only days away in the hands of a tough, shrewd, courageous man called Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers.” – Jackie Robinson
39. “My protest about the post exchange seating bore some results. More seats were allocated for blacks, but there were still separate sections for blacks and for whites. At least I had made my men realize that something could be accomplished by speaking out, and I hoped they would be less resigned to unjust conditions.” – Jackie Robinson
40. “It isn’t a perfect America and it isn’t run right, but it still belongs to us. As” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography
41. “I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a black man in a white world. In 1972, in 1947, at my birth in 1919, I know that I never had it made.” – Jackie Robinson
42. “During my life, I have had a few nightmares which happened to me while I was wide awake. One of them was the National Republican Convention in San Francisco, which produced the greatest disaster the Republican Party has ever known – Nominee Barry Goldwater.” – Jackie Robinson
43. “I’m grateful for all the breaks and honors and opportunities I’ve had, but I always believe I won’t have it made until the humblest black kid in the most remote backwoods of America has it made.” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

“I’m grateful for all the breaks and honors and opportunities I’ve had, but I always believe I won’t have it made until the humblest black kid in the most remote backwoods of America has it made.” – Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It… Click To Tweet

44. “I don’t like needing anyone for anything.” – Jackie Robinson
45. “Blacks have had to learn to protect themselves by being cynical but not cynical enough to slam the door on potential opportunities. We go through life walking a tightrope to prevent too much disillusionment.” – Jackie Robinson

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Famous Jackie Robinson quotes about impacting others

46. “A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives.” – Jackie Robinson
47. “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” – Jackie Robinson
48. “This ain’t fun. But you watch me, I’ll get it done.” – Jackie Robinson
49. “I guess you’d call me an independent, since I’ve never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label.” – Jackie Robinson
50. “If I had to choose between baseball’s Hall of Fame and first-class citizenship for all of my people. I would say first-class citizenship.” – Jackie Robinson
51. “Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.” – Jackie Robinson

“Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.” – Jackie Robinson Click To Tweet

52. “We have a social responsibility and we are held to a higher standard than other institutions.” – Jackie Robinson
53. “Discover the truth of today, and perhaps find the greatness of tomorrow.” A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.” – Jackie Robinson
54. “When he (Richard Nixon) took the oath of office, he pledged to be the president for 100% of the people, and I challenge the president to prove that he is being the president for 100% of the people.” – Jackie Robinson

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Jackie Robinson quotes about teamwork

55. “A new breed of Republicans has taken over the GOP. It is a new breed which is seeking to sell to Americans a doctrine which is as old as mankind – the doctrine of racial division, the doctrine of racial prejudice, the doctrine of white supremacy.” – Jackie Robinson
56. “We’re in a real crisis situation where many times people are being turned away at the door.” – Jackie Robinson
57. “The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity.” – Jackie Robinson
58. “I think it was one of the greatest times ever in the world to play baseball. Television was in its infancy. Breaking the color barrier.” – Jackie Robinson
59.  “I don’t think it matters what I believe, only what I do.” – Jackie Robinson

 “I don’t think it matters what I believe, only what I do.” – Jackie Robinson Click To Tweet

60. “I had to fight hard against loneliness, abuse, and the knowledge that any mistakes I made would be magnified because I was the only black man out there… I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.” – Jackie Robinson
61. “Baseball, like some other sports, poses as a sacred institution dedicated to the public good, but it is actually a big, selfish business with a ruthlessness that many big businesses would never think of displaying.” – Jackie Robinson
62. “You’re going to be a great player, kid.” – Jackie Robinson
63. “It’s not easy to be a martyr in the field of race relations.” – Jackie Robinson

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Jackie Robinson quotes on pursuing your dreams

64. “Next time I go to a movie and see a picture of a little ordinary girl become a great star… I’ll believe it. And whenever I hear my wife read fairy tales to my little boy, I’ll listen. I know now that dreams do come true.” – Jackie Robinson
65. “This ain’t fun. But you watch me, I’ll get it done.” – Jackie Robinson

“This ain’t fun. But you watch me, I’ll get it done.” – Jackie Robinson Click To Tweet

66. “Relationships may change throughout the gift of time, memories stay the same forever in my mind.” – Jackie Robinson
67. “I am not concerned with being liked or disliked. I am concerned with being respected.” – Jackie Robinson
68. “I do not believe that every person, in every walk of life, can succeed in spite of any handicap. That would be perfection. But I do believe that what I was able to attain came to be because we put behind us (no matter how slowly) the dogmas of the past: to discover the truth of today; and perhaps the greatness of tomorrow.” – Jackie Robinson
69. “I ought to break this trophy into 32 pieces.” – Jackie Robinson
70. “I’m not goin’ anywhere, I’m right here!” – Jackie Robinson
71. “I don’t think that I or any other Negro, as an American citizen, should have to ask for anything that is rightfully his. We are demanding that we just are given the things that are rightfully ours and that we’re not looking for anything else.” – Jackie Robinson
72. “At the beginning of the World Series of 1947, I experienced a completely new emotion when the National Anthem was played. This time, I thought, it is being played for me, as much as for anyone else.” – Jackie Robinson
73. “The many of us who attain what we may and forget those who help us along the line we’ve got to remember that there are so many others to pull along the way. The farther they go, the further we all go.” – Jackie Robinson
74. “Are you looking for a Negro who won’t fight back?” – Jackie Robinson
75. “Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion, you’re wasting your life.” – Jackie Robinson
76. “Plenty of times I wanted to haul off when somebody insulted me for the color of my skin, but I had to hold to myself. I knew I was kind of an experiment. The whole thing was bigger than me.” – Jackie Robinson

Which of these Jackie Robinson quotes inspired you the most?

Jackie Robinson’s life is one worth emulating. His determination to make it in life despite the hurdles is inspiring. He didn’t mind that he grew up with a single parent or that he dropped out of college due to financial struggles, he pushed boundaries in baseball drawing the attention of the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. That was the beginning of his career.

Jackie’s exceptional perspective as a sports pioneer, coupled with his articulacy and tenacity makes him of the most inspirational sports stars in history. Not even naysayers could quench the fire in him.

What is your dream? Are you considering forfeiting it because of your current challenges? Yes, it might seem as though the world is against you but look within you and ask yourself, “If I am not doing this, what else would I rather be doing?”

We hope that by reading Jackie Robinson’s quotes, you are fired up to keep pursuing your dreams. Do not forget to share with your friends and family. Also, drop your favorite quote in the comment section below!