Most people, whether or not they are sports fans, are reasonably familiar with the career highlights of Jackie Robinson.

Born in 1919, in Cairo, GA, and reared in Pasadena, CA, Robinson was an outstanding all-around athlete (football, basketball, track and baseball) in college, but had to withdraw from UCLA as a junior, to help his mother care for the family.

After leaving the Army in 1945, he played professional football in Hawaii, and baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League.

On October 23, 1945, Robinson and pitcher John Wright, also black, were signed by Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey, to play on a Dodgers farm team, the Montreal Royals of the International League. Jackie led that league in batting average in 1946, and was brought into the majors in 1947--breaking the color line for all time. The Sporting News named him rookie of the year for 1947.

In 1949, he won the batting championship with a .342 average, and was voted the National League's most valuable player. He left baseball in 1957, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. His health destroyed by diabetes, he died--too young--in 1972.

No doubt about it, Robinson was an exceptional human being.

But, being a fallible human, Jackie was involved in two somewhat unusual incidents, occurring toward the end of his playing days. The long defunct Look magazine figured into both of them.

In January and February of 1955, Look published a series of interviews with Robinson, in which he described his experiences as the first man to integrate Major League Baseball. He was quoted as follows:

"The Sporting News of St. Louis, the national baseball weekly, said that I only had enough ability to try out for a Brooklyn Class B farm team--if I were six years younger and white. A year later, The Sporting News presented me with its award for being, in its opinion, the rookie of the year for 1947."

The only problem with the quote is that The Sporting News denied ever printing such a negative statement on Robinson, and even challenged him to produce the reference--which he could never do.

Two years later, on January 5, 1957, Jackie Robinson retired from baseball.

By all accounts, he should never have even played during the 1956 season. But, giving no indication to Dodgers management that he did intend to retire, he was traded to the New York Giants, on December 13, 1956. Robinson feigned anger that he was not told about the trade, but in reality, he had planned to retire, and already had accepted a job offer from the Chock Full O' Nuts restaurant chain in New York.

Although he had been denying for weeks that he was going to retire, he had been paid by Look for another article entitled "Why I'm Quitting Baseball."

When this was found out, Dodgers general manager Buzzy Bavasi became extremely upset.

"Jackie handled the whole thing in bush style. He denies to the newspaper guys he's retiring, then takes money for saying he is."

Truly, an unexpected ending to an otherwise exemplary career.