Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 1972)

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.

January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 334 days remain until the end of the year.