Jackie Robinson at UCLA: 4-sport Bruins legend set football record, won track national title

Jackie Robinson at UCLA: 4-sport Bruins legend set football record, won track national title originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Before Jackie Robinson broke MLB's color barrier on April 15, 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was a four-sport athlete with the UCLA Bruins.

Robinson played baseball at UCLA, yes, but also football and basketball and track & field.

At least in college, he would've been regarded as better at a few of the sports aside from baseball, the one that would one day make him a hero.

MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 every year. Each player in the league wears Robinson's Dodgers' number, 42, on their jersey.

It's a great time to remember all his greatness at UCLA.

MORE:The roots of Jackie Robinson Day on April 15

Jackie Robinson 4 sports at UCLA

Football

Robinson was a record-setting football player for the Bruins.

In the 1939 season, he ran for 12.2 yards per attempt on 42 carries. That's the all-time school record for rushing yards per carry.

Robinson also had the most punt return yards in the country in both 1939 and 1940.

Track & Field

Robinson was a national champion.

He won the 1940 NCAA title in the long jump, leaping 24 feet, 10.25 inches (7.58 meters).

Baseball

Robinson played one season of baseball at UCLA and hit just .097, which is hard to fathom.

He was reported to have stolen home twice in his first game.

Basketball

Robinson was a double-digit scorer in his two seasons at UCLA (12.4 PPG and 11.1 PPG), which was quite the feat in a lower-scoring era of hoops.

He did end up playing for a fledgling basketball team in 1946, the Los Angeles Red Devils -- and he scored 18 points in his first game. They eventually played in the National Basketball League, where Robinson faced George Mikan.

MORE:Dodgers wear a 'B' on hats for Jackie