Carrying On Tradition of the Robinson Family

If the football players at Pasadena Muir ever want to receive a history lesson about the legacy of their most famous alumnus, Jackie Robinson, all they need to do is seek out their starting center, Dennis Robinson.

Dennis is Jackie Robinson’s great nephew and the grandson of Jackie’s older brother, Matthew “Mack” Robinson. He’s a walking, talking, breathing connection to the man who changed America in the 20th century.

“He comes from great bloodlines,” football Coach Mike Riazzi said.

Dennis has attended the same schools and walked the same hallways as Jackie and Mack, from Cleveland Elementary to Washington Middle School to Muir. He can drive to Pasadena City Hall and stand next to busts of his great uncle and grandfather across the street.

There’s also Jackie Robinson Park and Jackie Robinson Community Center. There’s a post office named after Mack, who finished second to Jesse Owens in the 200 meters at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

It was Jackie, a four-sport athlete at UCLA, who changed the way race was viewed in America by becoming the first African American to play in the major leagues since the 19th century when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

The taunting and turmoil that Robinson endured in a time of segregation remains an emotional experience that Dennis finds difficult to comprehend.

“I can’t fathom some of the stuff he went through,” Dennis said.

Jackie was court-martialed in the Army for not moving to the back of the bus. He joined the Dodgers one year before President Truman ordered the military desegregated and seven years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka.

Dennis has read books on Jackie, heard stories from his mother, Rose, and spoken with Jackie’s widow, Rachel. All provided inspiration on what is required to live the Robinson way.

“I don’t think we say we have to live up to this or that,” Dennis said. “I think it’s just natural. We’re not so overwhelmed just because we’re in the Jackie Robinson family, we have to talk about him all the time. We think of him as just another uncle, an uncle who contributed a lot to America and society.”

Performing well in school and sports continues to be a Robinson family tradition. Dennis has a 3.8 grade-point average, is starting on the varsity football team for the third consecutive season, loves to draw and play drums. He works part time at a movie theater, doing anything and everything. His dream is to attend UCLA, like Jackie, and study animation.

“That would make my day,” he said. “I would be the happiest man on Earth to walk that campus.”

His mother, a single parent, has constantly reminded Dennis and his older brother about the importance of education. She and other relatives have told them about the trying days living in Georgia.

“My aunt worked on a plantation,” Rose said. “My grandfather was a chauffeur for a plantation. [History] goes deeper than baseball for us. It’s about survival.”

Riazzi is in his first year as football coach at Muir. He came from Melbourne, Fla., and learned about Muir’s connection to Jackie Robinson from reading material on the Internet. His team is composed mostly of African Americans. He wants his players to understand Jackie Robinson’s legacy.

“Every one of them can look for inspiration from him,” he said. “He handled a tough situation with class, and that’s what we want to do.”

Dennis was asked what he learned from his great uncle.

“That he was very noble and very confident,” he said. “He knew what he wanted and went after it no matter what other people said, and it motivates me. His determination, his fire for what he loved was just unbelievable. He was mentally strong and focused.”

Jackie Robinson was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1962. He died at the age of 53 on Oct. 24, 1972. Mack Robinson died at age 88 on March 12, 2000. He had 25 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Dennis doesn’t go around shouting that he’s part of the Jackie Robinson family, but he knows it’s an honor.

“Sometimes I can’t believe it,” he said. “I’m blessed.”

*

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com