Born in
Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919, he was the youngest of 5 in a poor,
sharecropping family. He lived with his mother and his four siblings as his
father left the family when Jackie was six months old. He moved to California at a young age, where baseball was played year-round because of great weather. Obviously baseball played a major role of the time that Jackie spent with his spare time. Being in a poor family, one of his motivations for playing baseball is so he could make money and provide a better life for him, but more so his family. Baseball wasn't his only sport though, as he participated in track, football and basketball too.