Ask most people what sports Jackie Robinson played, and you’ll get the same answer every single time: baseball. It’s the obvious choice. He’s the man who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, a Hall of Famer, and a literal civil rights icon. But here’s the thing—if you lived in Los Angeles or Honolulu in the early 1940s, you might have known him as a football star first. Honestly, there was a time when experts thought baseball was actually his worst sport.
So, what football team did jackie robinson play for? While he is synonymous with the Dodgers, his football journey took him through the legendary UCLA Bruins, the Honolulu Bears, and the Los Angeles Bulldogs.
The UCLA Years: Where "The Lightning" Was Born
Before he was a pro, Jackie was a human highlight reel at UCLA. He wasn't just a player; he was the first athlete in the school’s history to letter in four sports: football, basketball, baseball, and track.
In 1939 and 1940, Jackie Robinson was basically the most dangerous man in college football. He played in a backfield that featured Kenny Washington and Woody Strode—a trio often called the "Gold Dust Trio." This wasn't just a talented group; it was one of the most integrated teams in the country at a time when the NFL was strictly white-only.
Jackie’s stats at UCLA are still kinda mind-blowing today:
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- He averaged 12.2 yards per carry in 1939. Let that sink in. Every time he touched the ball, he basically got a first down and then some.
- He led the entire NCAA in punt return average in both 1939 and 1940.
- He held the Bruins' record for career rushing yards per carry for decades.
Ray Richards, an assistant coach at UCLA at the time, once told the Santa Cruz Evening News that Robinson was the only player he’d ever seen who could do a complete 360-degree pivot without losing a single ounce of speed. He was a "breakaway threat" in every sense of the word.
The Honolulu Bears: Pro Ball in Paradise
In 1941, Jackie left UCLA just shy of graduation. He needed money. His family needed money. Because the NFL was still maintaining a shameful "gentleman’s agreement" to exclude Black players, Jackie looked elsewhere to get paid for his athleticism.
He signed with a semi-professional team called the Honolulu Bears.
Life with the Bears was a mix of hard-hitting football and a construction job on the side. He was paid about $100 per game—good money for the era—plus a $150 advance that he famously used to help his mother. On the field, he was a titan. In one game, he intercepted a pass for a 60-yard touchdown and then threw a 50-yard bomb for another score later in the same afternoon.
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However, his time in Hawaii ended with a chilling bit of timing. Jackie boarded the Lurline to head back to California on December 5, 1941. Two days later, while he was still at sea, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. If he had stayed just 48 hours longer, the trajectory of his life—and American history—might have looked very different.
The Los Angeles Bulldogs: The Final Football Chapter
When he got back to the mainland, Jackie didn't hang up the cleats immediately. He joined the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Pro Football League (PCFL). This league was widely considered the "next best thing" to the NFL, and unlike the NFL, it was integrated.
His first stint with the Bulldogs was brief because he was drafted into the Army in 1942. But even while serving at Fort Riley, he tried to play for the base team. That ended abruptly when the University of Missouri refused to play against an integrated team, and Jackie, never one to tolerate bigotry, eventually left the squad.
After his discharge in 1944, he returned to the Los Angeles Bulldogs. By this time, however, his legendary speed was being betrayed by a nagging ankle injury. In a highly anticipated matchup against the Hollywood Wolves, he still managed to flash that UCLA magic, rushing for a 43-yard touchdown and throwing a 65-yarder.
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But the "mangled" ankle, as some reports called it, finally caught up to him. He reinjured it badly in a game against San Diego, and by March 1945, he’d signed with the Kansas City Monarchs to play baseball. The football dream was over, and the baseball legend was about to begin.
What If Branch Rickey Never Called?
It’s a fun "what if" for sports historians. If Branch Rickey hadn't scouted Jackie for the Brooklyn Dodgers, would he have been a pioneer in the NFL instead?
His teammates Kenny Washington and Woody Strode eventually broke the NFL’s color barrier with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. Given Jackie’s talent—many contemporary scouts felt he was a better football player than a baseball player—it’s almost certain he would have been right there with them. He had the arm of a quarterback and the legs of an elite returner.
Actionable Insights for Sports History Buffs
If you're looking to dive deeper into this often-overlooked era of sports history, here’s how to find the real stories:
- Check the UCLA Archives: Look for 1939-1940 game film. A few clips of Robinson returning punts exist on YouTube and in historical archives, and his "pivot" is as impressive now as it was then.
- Research the PCFL: The Pacific Coast Pro Football League is a goldmine of stories about integrated sports before the major leagues caught up.
- Visit the Jackie Robinson Museum: Located in New York City, it holds artifacts not just from his Dodger days, but from his multi-sport dominance at UCLA.
Jackie Robinson's football career wasn't just a footnote; it was the foundation of his toughness. The hits he took on the gridiron prepared him for the "hits" he would take in 1947. He wasn't just a baseball player—he was an athlete of the highest order who happened to change the world with a bat in his hand.