Matthew MacKenzie "Mack" Robinson (July 18, 1914 – March 12, 2000) was an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete. He is best known for winning a silver medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics, where he broke the Olympic record in the 200 meters but still finished behind

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

(like Jesse Owens, Robinson was an African-American). He was the older brother of Baseball Hall of Fame member Jackie Robinson.

Early life

Mack was born in

Cairo, Georgia Cairo () is a city in Grady County, Georgia, Grady County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,179. The city is the county seat of Grady County. History C ...

, in 1914. He and his siblings were left fatherless at an early age, leaving their mother, Mallie Robinson, as the sole support of the children. She performed in a variety of manual labor tasks, and moved with her children to Pasadena, California, while the children were still young. At the start of middle school Mack was diagnosed with a

heart murmur Heart murmurs are unique heart sounds produced when blood flows across a heart valve or blood vessel. This occurs when turbulent blood flow creates a sound loud enough to hear with a stethoscope. Turbulent blood flow is not smooth. The sound di ...

that got worse with age, and was advised to only play non-contact sports. He remained in town for school, and set national junior college records in the 100 meter, 200 meter, and long jump at Pasadena Junior College.

1936 Olympics

He placed second in the 200 meters at the United States Olympic Trials in 1936, earning himself a place on the Olympic team. He went on to win the silver medal at the Summer Olympics in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, finishing 0.4 seconds behind

. In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Robinson, was documented in the film '' Olympic Pride, American Prejudice''.

Later career and life

Mack Robinson attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, graduating in 1941. With

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

he won numerous titles in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, AAU and Pacific Coast Conference track meets. He has been honored as being one of the most distinguished graduates of the University of Oregon and is a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

. For a time in the early 1970s, Mack was a park director of Lemon Grove Park, a park in the

East Hollywood East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

part of the City of Los Angeles. Later in life, he was known for leading the fight against street crime in his home town of Pasadena. The Pasadena Robinson Memorial, dedicated to both Matthew and Jackie, was dedicated in 1997. The memorial statue of Jackie Robinson by sculptor Richard H. Ellis at

UCLA Bruins baseball The UCLA Bruins baseball team is the varsity college baseball team of the University of California, Los Angeles. Having started playing in 1920, the program is a member of the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference. It plays its home games at Jackie ...

team's home

Jackie Robinson Stadium Jackie Robinson Stadium is a college baseball park in Los Angeles, California. It is the home field of the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1981, it is the smallest ballpark in the conference, with a seating capacity of 1,820. ...

, was installed by the efforts of Jackie's brother, Mack. Several locations are named in honor of Matthew Robinson. In addition to the Pasadena Robinson Memorial, the stadium of Pasadena City College was dedicated to him in 2000. That same year, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

approved naming the new post office in Pasadena the ''Matthew 'Mack' Robinson Post Office Building''. Robinson died of complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

, on March 12, 2000, at a hospital in Pasadena, California; he was 85. He is interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, Altadena, California.

Notes

References

Matthew Robinson entry at infoplease.comarticle "Jackie Robinson Remembered" at finarticles.com
*Rampersad, Arnold. ''Jackie Robinson, a Biography''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. *https://web.archive.org/web/20090206050141/http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=246730

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Mack 1914 births 2000 deaths African-American male track and field athletes American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Deaths from diabetes Deaths from pneumonia in California Deaths from kidney failure Jackie Robinson Junior college men's track and field athletes in the United States Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes People from Cairo, Georgia Sportspeople from Pasadena, California Track and field athletes from California Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American history in Eugene, Oregon African-American history of Oregon