In 1937, Robinson enrolled at Pasadena Junior College,
moving from football, to basketball, to baseball, and track, at times competing
in two sports simultaneously. One day, Robinson set a junior college broad jump
record of 25 feet, 61/2 inches, then raced across town to
a baseball game to help Pasadena win the league championship. Though baseball
was never Robinson's best sport, he stood out on the diamond. His first year at
Pasadena, Robinson played shortstop, hit .417, and stole 25 bases in 24 games. His
second year at Pasadena, Robinson ran for more than 1,000 yards to score 17
touchdowns and lead the football team to 11 straight victories. He even
returned a kickoff for a 104-yard touchdown. In basketball, he averaged 19
points per game and led Pasadena to the California Junior College championship.
That spring, Robinson was named Southern California Junior College MVP after
leading the baseball team to the league title, all the while running and
jumping for the track team. Colleges took note of Robinson, and in 1939, he
accepted a scholarship to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
He was a dazzling runner in the open football field. His first season at UCLA,
he led the nation with an average of 12.24 yards per carry. During his time at
UCLA, Robinson became the school's first four-letter winner, playing baseball,
football, basketball, and track. While at UCLA, he met nursing student Rachel
Isum, his future wife. In spring 1941, seeing no future in athletics or
college, Robinson left UCLA. "I was convinced that no amount of education
would help a black man get a job," Robinson noted in his autobiography, I
Never Had It Made. "I felt I was living in an academic and athletic
dream world."