Robinson was born on January 31, 1919. His family were sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. He was born during a Spanish flu and smallpox epidemic. He was the youngest of five children, after siblings Edgar, Frank, Matthew (nicknamed "Mack"), and Willa Mae. His middle name was in honor of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who died twenty-five days before Robinson was born. After Robinson's father left the family in 1920, they moved to Pasadena, California. The Robinson family lived on a plot with two small houses at 121 Pepper Street in Pasadena. Robinson's mother worked different odd jobs to support the family. Robinson grew up somewhat poor in a fairly rich community. Because of this, Robinson and his minority friends were left out of many sports activities. As a result, Robinson joined a neighborhood gang. However, his friend Carl Anderson made him leave it.