Culture In Sports Culture

“Jackie Robinson is perhaps the most historically significant baseball player ever, ranking with Babe Ruth in terms of his impact on the national pastime. Ruth changed the way baseball was played; Jackie Robinson changed the way Americans thought. When Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, more than sixty years of racial segregation in major-league baseball came to an end. He was the first acknowledged black player to perform in the Major Leagues in the twentieth century and went on to be the first to win a batting title, the first to win the Most Valuable Player award, and the first to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He won major-league baseball's first official Rookie of the Year award and was the first baseball player, black or white, to be featured on a United States postage stamp”(swaine,

Jackie robinson made a huge difference in history back in 1947 when he was the first african american the play baseball in history . He took chances by stepping on dodger field even when he got threats that the people would beat him up or kill him. Jackie stood tall and did not care what people thought about him or his color.In the season when Jackie started doing well with the Dodgers, Dodger fans got happy but they also had a lot of complaints about Jackie playing ball.Even though Jackie got many threats he keep playing the game and sacrifice his life to make a stand for the game he loved.Now today Jackie number 42 is retired and no one can have that number in the MLB.

Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives”. The impact Robinson made on Major League Baseball is one that will be forever remembered. Every year on April 15th of each Major League Baseball season, every team in Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day. This day commemorates Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier in baseball. Robinson became the first African-American player to take the field in a Major League Baseball game. Jackie Robinson will forever be appreciated for his breaking the color barrier and opening the door for other African-Americans. Since Robinson was the first African-American baseball player, his jersey number 42 was the first to be retired in any sport. This was a really a big deal for African-Americans. When Jackie Robinson took the field in 1947, he ended sixty years of racial segregation in the Major League Baseball.

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in the modern MLB. Branch Rickey signed Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945 because he realized there were many talented athletes in the Negro League. Robinson was on the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956. Rickey knew Robinson would get lots of booing and insults on the field, but he knew Robinson could control his anger. The year he entered the Major Leagues the threats, insults and abuse got worse. He didn’t let it get to him and that year, his batting average was .297 and scored 127 runs.

After just five years after Robinson joined the MLB, one hundred and fifty African Americans joined the major leagues. He not only contributed to the Civil Rights Movement, but he gave hope to African Americans with the talent to play at such a major level. “But real heroes risk their lives for others…” (“Hero”) Jackie Robinson put his life in danger to stick up for what he believed in.

pril 10, 1947, a date that changed baseball and the world forever. The Brooklyn Dodger’s General Manager, Branch Rickey, gave Jackie Robinson a one-way ticket to the play in the MLB. Robinson had been given a contract to play for the professional baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first ever african to play in the MLB (Major League Baseball ). “ I want a man who has the courage not to fight back,” Rickey had once stated to Robinson. “ If you take this gamble, I will do my best to perform,” Jackie replied. Robinson wasn’t just a game changer for the game, but for all blacks fighting for equality.

While the Brooklyn Dodgers infielder didn't make a nation color blind, he at least made it more color friendly.” (Schwartz, ESPN) Robinson’s great performance in the MLB helped the uprise of other African American baseball players which has felt his impact even to today. His number 42 on April 15 1997, the 50th anniversary of him breaking the color barrier all 32 MLB teams retired his number and he is remembered every year on this date in the MLB, and is known as Jackie Robinson day. Jackie Robinson was a great baseball player, but his accomplishments achieved on the baseball diamond have no comparison to what he achieved for the equality for African Americans in the United States and his impact is still felt around the world

In 1946, Jackie Robinson altered the course of major league baseball forever, he did what no man ever did before him, Robinson broke the color barrier after 15 years of it withstanding (“Jackie”). Before Robinson, there were no African Americans in MLB

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.

     "Over the decades, African American teams played 445-recorded games against white teams, winning sixty-one percent of them." (Conrads, pg.8) The Negro Leagues were an alternative baseball group for African American baseball player that were denied the right to play with the white baseball payers in the Major League Baseball Association. In 1920, the first African American League was formed, and that paved the way for numerous African American innovation and movements. Fences, and Jackie Robinson: The Biography, raises consciousness about the baseball players that have been overlooked, and the struggle they had to endure simply because of their color.

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

The topic that I chose for this ethnographic interview was sports in American culture. Sports are popular in America, and are a big part of the culture in America. I would say most people in America have played sports, whether they played as kids, in high school, at the collegiate level, or even professional. A great deal of people also enjoy watching sporting events. The following were the questions asked during the interview. How have sports affected your life? Why do you think sports are so popular in America’s culture? How are sports a part of the culture in America? What do you think about the amount of money spent on spectator sports?

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”.

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

Culture and norms, cohesiveness, and adaptability are what accounts for the “most efficient in U.S. pro sports” team (Ryan). Hendrick Motorsports' has dominated NASCAR for the last 30 years, “earning 11 titles in 30 Cup seasons” which puts the company statistically ahead of the Boston Celtics, New York Yankees, and other great teams. To build relationships, a driver and pit crew in NASCAR must develop rapport and a sense of community. Establishing a culture of being physically fit and mentally prepared for every race and pit stop are positive norms that lead to winning. The behavior of the driver and his adherence to the right norms has a tremendous ability to assist in winning races. It is the culmination of the whole team’s efforts, and