Bill Russell's Accomplishments

Throughout his professional career, Jackie Robinson, received criticism for being the first “black” player to play the game. Not only did Jackie Robinson manage to live up to the criticism, he also changed the face of America’s greatest past time forever. With his entrance into the MLB he opened the path for great black players like Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Ozzie Smith just to name a few. In crossing the color-barrier in baseball Robinson not only strived as a great player on the field, but also a inspiration to the black community of the field with his humility, and willingness to move forward in a time where blacks were not considered “equal”.

Many people believe Michael Jordan did his part of fighting racial battles for equality just like the great Civil Rights activist era.

Russell is revered as one of the greatest civil rights advocates American sports, and the country as a whole has ever seen. Throughout his playing days and all the way up to the present day, Russell has continually pushed for equality and has never shied away from speaking his thoughts. And when he speaks, everyone listens. Proof of such arrived in February when Russell's push for civil rights and

Robinson saw that athletic success did not guarantee full freedom in the racially and economically unequal American society. Opposing players often reminded him of his race arguments, rougher hits, and racial slurs. (Gale)

Jackie Robinson’s life changed when he became the first black man to play in the World Series and Major League Baseball during a time of segregation in America. These life-changing events challenged him because he had to face racially tense crowds and endured threats from teammates, opponents, and bigoted fans. In paragraph three, Robinson states, “There were threats against me and my family and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me. This quote explains that Jackie Robinson was facing racist people who were threatening him. Despite the racism he faced, Robinson learned to have pride in his accomplishments and appreciate the support courage, and love shown by his supporters. In paragraph eleven, Robinson states,”I don’t think i’ll ever forget the small, shrill voice of a tiny white kid who, in the midst of a racially tense atmosphere during an early game in a Dixie town, cried out “Attaboy Jackie”.” This quote explains how Robinson had pride in himself after a tiny white kid motivated him by encouraging him that he was a really good baseball player. Robinson responded to the life-changing events by not giving up when he was getting hate and racism. In paragraph three, it states, “Within the club, Mr. Rickey had put down rebellion that by letting my teammates know that anyone who didn’t want to be

The story of Jackie Robinson has become one of America's most iconic and inspiring stories. Since 1947, American history has portrayed Jackie Robinson as a hero, and he has been idolized as a role model to the African American baseball community. It is an unarguable fact that he was the first to tear down the color barriers within professional baseball. The topic of Robinson’s role in integration has long been a point of discussion amongst baseball historians. Researchers have accumulated thousands of accredited documents and interviews with friends and team mates such as short stop, Pee Wee Reese, and team owner, Branch Rickey. However, few journalists have asked why Robinson was selected and what was Branch

When Robinson was selected to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, by the “General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey” (McBirney 3), he knew it was going to be a bumpy ride. Attempting to break the “color barrier” or let alone play for the Major League takes courage. Despite his fame and how he played on the field, Robinson received “explicit and persuasive death threats” (Scott 2). He also took racism within the stands and even “faced discrimination from a few of his own team members, who threatened to sit out games if he was allowed to play” (McBirney 5). During the games he got things thrown at him like trash, tomatoes, rocks, watermelon slices, and Sambo dolls. But Robinson still showed his courage to continue

Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby were very determined to stick with the game they loved and to make a change. Thanks to their performance both on and off the ball field, “other owners began to seek talented black players, and by 1952, there were 150 black players in organized baseball” (Branch). Their “actions had repercussions far beyond the sports world” (Jim). The integration of baseball was an enormous smack in the face to all of segregation. Many racial barriers quickly tumbled down with the integration of baseball; restaurants, hotels, and stores removed their “white only” signs bringing blacks and whites together. Robinson and Doby could not have won the battle against segregation on their own, the press helped to make their struggle to be known throughout the country.

Since the abolition of slavery in the USA in 1883 and through the first half of the 20th Century, African Americans had been in a constant struggle to try and gain an equal footing in society. Like many aspects of American life, black sportsmen were segregated, and no African American had played professional baseball since 1884. For this reason, the integration of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first African American to play Major League baseball in the modern era had a grand impact on the entire country. From the moment that Dodgers owner, Branch Rickey decided that Robinson would break the colour lone, the history of sport and the history of African Americans would not be the same again. The importance of his integration and the effect it had on civil rights can be looked at in many different ways. It had great effect on the African American community, instilling pride and belief once again in the American Dream for many who had once thought it impossible. It also had significant importance for civil rights groups, and brought about a figure who would fight his peoples quest for equal rights until the day he died. It was a significant risk taken by both Rickey and Robinson, professionally and personally. But it was a risk that both in the short term for African American sport, and in the long run for African American civil rights, was ultimately well worth taking.

On May 6, 1999, Bill Russell, the man who redefineed the center by his unique shot-blocking, man-to-man defense and rebounding ability, and contributed to his team Celtics by his outstanding performance and remarkable leadership, finally attended his own retirement ceremony after 27 years of retirement. This great man in the history of American basketball refused to have a ceremony in 1972 in Boston, the city he perceived as the “racist city”, because of his concern of discrimination. On February 15th, 2011, Bill Russell received the Medal of Freedom from President Obama for his contribution to civil rights movement. Obama described him as “the man who stand up for the dignity of all men”. From being insulted, being refused in restaurants during tournaments, intimidating the world with his long arms and strong opinions, to challenging the politics of sports and fighting against racism, it has been a long way for Bill Russell, for American basketball, and for American society. Basketball, one of the major sports in America, presents the civil rights breakthrough both in professional games and in colleges. The book “King of the Courts: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution” by Aram Goudsouzian and “Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball” by Tom Graham, and Rachel Graham Cody, reveal the story of how two of the greatest players in the history of American basketball, broke the color barriers in basketball and foster the

Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31st 1919. In 1947, at the age of 28, Jackie became the first African American to break the “color line” of Major League Baseball when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers. During his tenure with the Dodgers, Jackie was not simply an average player. Among various other accolades, Mr. Robinson was a starter on six World Series teams as well as being named the National League Rookie of The Year in 1947. His advantageous career was then capped in 1962 when he was inducted in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.1 Contrary to popular belief, Jackie's perseverance in implementing racial integration extended beyond his career in Major League Baseball. During the Sixties Jackie Robinson was a

Jackie Robinson and the women’s baseball team both found their own types of discrimination. Robinson, an African-American in the 1940’s, faced terrible racism. Racism is defined as “poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). He was assaulted verbally with words such as “coon” and “monkey”, which are derogatory words to how Caucasian people see

In July 1949, he testified on discrimination before the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1952, he publicly called out the Yankees as a racist organization for not having broken the color barrier five years after he began playing with the Dodgers.” He was very active in social activism for blacks rights. His biggest focus was impacting others

“Basketball was once a game for the Irish and Italian Catholics in Rockaway and the Jewish on Fordham Road in the Bronx.” (Greenfield 210). Back in the beginnings of basketball ethnic names like Red Holzmans, Red Auerbach, and the McGuire Brothers were etched as stars of the NBA (Greenfield 210). But in the present names such Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson are a fixture of pro basketball with national television exposure and million dollar salaries. This is a far cry from the old school basketball of white men with status playing it for leisure. Greenfield and Wolf believe there is a question of style with today’s modern player.

During the 80’s, the period of which these individuals played, the NBA desperately needed a new spark, and the NBA got just what it needed. Larry Bird’s Celtics during the 1979-80 season made a dramatic improvement “from a 29-53 record the year before to 61-21”(Magic Johnson and). While Bird is making an extraordinary turnaround for his Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, during his rookie season, won a NBA championship for the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the Los Angeles Lakers seventh NBA championship victory. Their success helped the NBA, but their identities off the court supersedes the game of basketball. The years previous to the Magic-Bird rivalry were ever changing. The NBA changed from a fundamental, half-court game with all-white players, to a quick pace, athletically acrobatic game with mainly black players. Few old-school former white people, such as Jerry West and Pete Maravich, could participate and compete in this new form of basketball. This different style of basketball significantly swayed many viewers, white fans, from attending the NBA games. White fans felt that the game was very egocentric and didn’t involve all the players. Also, the white fans didn’t