<Li> Chadwick Boseman, in the 2013 motion picture 42 . </Li> <P> Robinson was also the subject of a 2016 PBS documentary, Jackie Robinson, which was directed by Ken Burns and features Jamie Foxx doing voice - over as Robinson . </P> <P> Robinson once told future Hall of Fame inductee Hank Aaron that "the game of baseball is great, but the greatest thing is what you do after your career is over ." Robinson retired from baseball at age 37 on January 5, 1957 . Later that year, after he complained of numerous physical ailments, his doctors diagnosed him with diabetes, a disease that also afflicted his brothers . Although Robinson adopted an insulin injection regimen, the state of medicine at the time could not prevent the continued deterioration of Robinson's physical condition from the disease . </P> <P> In his first year of eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, Robinson encouraged voters to consider only his on - field qualifications, rather than his cultural impact on the game . He was elected on the first ballot, becoming the first black player inducted into the Cooperstown museum . </P>

When did jackie robinson retire from playing baseball