Matthew Robinson

Who was Matthew Robinson?

Matthew MacKenzie "Mack" Robinson was an American athlete who won a silver medal in the 1936 Olympics. He was the older brother of Baseball Hall of Fame member Jackie Robinson.

He was born in Cairo, Georgia, 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 labour tasks, and moved with her children to Pasadena, California, while the children were still young. Mack remained in town for school, and set national junior college records in the 100 meter, 200 meter, and long jump at Pasadena City College.

He placed second in the Western Regional Olympic Tryouts in 1936, earning himself a place on the United States Olympic team. He went on to win the silver medal in the men's 200 metres at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, finishing just 0.4 seconds behind Jesse Owens.

Mack Robinson attended the University of Oregon, graduating in 1941. At the University of Oregon he won numerous titles in NCAA, AAU and Pacific Coast Conference track meets.