Category: CBB

Long before he made history with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Jackie Robinson was a nationally-known football player who led the UCLA football team to the school’s first undefeated season in 1939. But 1940 for Robinson and the Bruins was another story. Gone were Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, the Bruin stars who would eventually re-integrate the NFL and who Robinson teamed with in 1939 to elevate the UCLA football program to unprecedented heights. And to make matters worse, UCLA head coach Babe Horrell had failed to make up for those vacancies in recruiting, leaving Robinson on an island.