The Man Who Changed the Game
Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives” (“Jackie”). Jackie Robinson was a major star athlete from the very beginning, always excelling in whatever he did, and his biggest achievement was breaking the color barrier of major league baseball. Robinson is an American Revolutionary Figure because he changed many things for African Americans while also inspiring others to further advance and make changes as well.
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
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Jackie Robinson- a revolutionary baseball player did not stop simply with changing sports, he fought in all aspects for the civil rights that he believed African Americans should have. “His courage and bravery played a major role in the history of integration, both on the field and throughout American society, and no history of the civil rights movement would be complete without noting Robinson’s major role… he was one of the movement’s strongest voices” (Gates). Jackie was a monumental and impactful voice in the Civil Rights Movement, he spoke out to the public and made his opinion and dream known that he believed African Americans deserved equal rights and status with whites in America. When his virtuous friend, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Georgia, Robinson asked Presidential Candidate Nixon to intervene and release King from jail (Gates). Also, Robinson corresponded with people like Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon to try and further civil rights (Anderson and Mosor). He was also arrested while serving in the army for refusing to move to the back of a bus and then was placed in martial court with all odds stacked against him, Robinson surprisingly won the case and was not convicted of the two charges for disobedience (PBS). Winning the case proved that Jackie …show more content…
Many influential leaders took after Jackie’s example and leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. The events that came after Robinson’s legendary baseball debut helped to further the course of civil rights. “First, President Truman issued Executive Order 9982 on July 26th, 1948, just over a year after Robinson faced his first pitcher at Ebbets Field, abolishing discrimination in the armed forces. It is certainly reasonable to assume that Truman’s timing was informed by Robinson’s successful integration of professional baseball. Truman’s desegregation of the military no doubt informed the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision desegregating public schools in 1954, which in turn informed the actions of Rosa Parks on her bus, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott… leading to the leadership role of Martin Luther King Jr.” (Gates, PBS). The actions and pioneering of Robinson inspired many other leaders to arise in the Civil Rights Movement and many big milestones like the desegregation of schools to be influenced. Without any of these, and therefore without Robinson’s actions to set them off, the modern Civil Rights Movement would not exist. Setting off the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans also looked up to Jackie, he was an empowering figure and role model for the whole African American community around the country. Hank Aaron quotes in I Never Had It Made,
Jackie Robinson was one of the most historically well known people in the civil rights movement. So as the first man to integrate major league baseball, Jackie Robinson had a game changing impact on the way the game was played. Having the courage to fight for what is right, Jackie broke the imaginary color barrier that has covered major league baseball for years. Through his resiliency and tenaciousness in the face of seemingly unconquerable odds, Jackie Robinson set the course for African Americans to continue the expansion for equality and true freedom while he was becoming one of the greatest Major League baseball players in history.
Jackie Robinson is known for breaking the color barrier in his first major league baseball game on April 15, 1947. Many people were shocked at an African American player in a baseball game so many gathered inside the stadium as the game went on. After his amazing baseball career came to an end Jackie gave political speeches on views of Martin
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives”- Jackie Robinson (Baseball Almanac). Jackie Robinson’s life accomplished more than impacting others, he impacted a nation. His humble upbringing, strong will, and fight for equality is unmatched by any other. He was one of the first African Americans to stand up for equal rights and broke through many barriers to allow others to fight with him. His Hall of Fame career on the baseball diamond is only a small piece to Jackie’s story of struggle and hardship to reach equality.
Baseball has always been more than just a sport to the American people. For many, it is a way of life, teaching not just brute skills but life lessons and morals. In the wake of World War I, racism and bigotry abounded in the United States. Even though the integration of schools had recently been instated, Jim Crow laws severely limited the activity of African Americans in society, resulting in baseball teams being limited to whites. Jackie Robinson made an important step in gaining rights for African Americans when he broke the color barrier of baseball in 1947. He did this by making civil rights his ambition even before the protests began (Coombs 117). Jackie Robinson’s fame as a baseball player and determination to defeat adversity
The legacy of Jackie Robinson goes beyond the April 15, 1947 afternoon at Ebbets Field, when the Brooklyn Dodger infielder became the first black in the 20th century to play baseball in the major leagues. He changed the sport, and he changed the attitude of a lot of people in this country, Jackie Robinson fought for all the people that were fortunate, a lot of them are, especially the minority guys, to be able to play in the major leagues and the impact on the people of color today.
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
To the average person, in the average American community, Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that, but to see the real Jackie Robinson, you must de-emphasize him as a ball player and emphasize him as a civil rights leader. That part drops out, that which people forget. From his early army days, until well after his baseball days, Robinson had fought to achieve equality among whites and blacks. "Jackie acted out the philosophy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr., before the future civil rights leader had thought of applying it to the problem of segregation in America"(Weidhorn 93). Robinson was an avid
Jackie was a phenomenal athlete for young kids to look up to. After the start of World War II he served in the military from 1942 to 1944. After the war he returned to his love for baseball, playing in the Black major leagues. He was chosen by Branch Rickey, vice president of the Brooklyn dodgers, to help integrate the Major Leagues. Rickey hated segregation just as much as Robinson and wanted to change things “Rickey had once seen a Black college player turned away from a hotel… Rickey never forgot seeing this player crying because he was denied a place to lay his weary head just because of the color of his skin” (Mackenzie). He was finally able to do something about segregation and help change baseball and the United States for the better. It wasn’t that all the teams were racist and didn’t want a black player but when the major league teams had an away game they would rent out the stadium to the black teams for them to play at. And the executives of teams didn’t want to loose the money that they were making off of the black teams. “League owners would lose significant rental revenue” (“Breaking”). He soon signed with the all-white Montreal Royals a farm team for the Dodgers. Robinson had an outstanding start with the Royals, “leading the International League with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage” (Robinson). After Robinson’s outstanding year he was promoted to the Dodgers he played his first game on
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.
Robinson changed society when he was on the field. Also in Edd McDermott’s article it says, “You ain’t ever going to forget this baseball game, little man.” I was witnessing societal change (0). Jackie had impacts in almost everyone’s life. But the most important impact of Robinson’s presence was to enable white baseball fans to root for a black man (McDermott 0). Robinson never gave up. In Evan Andrews’ article it says that he continued to break down racial barriers after leaving baseball (0). Jackie still had issues with baseball
With the same idea as Martin Luther King Jr., he worked hard to stay non-violent and to “turn the cheek” to the many threats and racial slurs he received throughout his time in the Major League. He was the target of many cold-hearted fans, and even some of the players on his own team. He was already born a leader, but these things fueled his fire even more. 5 years after he began playing in the MLB, he testified against discrimination before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and called out the Yankees for not yet breaking the color barrier. Along with that, he also served as a leader on the board of the NAACP until 1967.(www.NAACP.org) There, he made speeches that inspired people to get on board and to fight for their rights and for changes. He said, “Certainly if such revolutionary change can be brought about in baseball, it can be brought about in education, in transportation, and in any other area of American life. (Robinson) He believed that change was just around the corner, and all it needed was a little push. Jackie was a firm believer in his ideas and that is why he is such an important figure in our
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 was a very important man to American history because he was the first black major league baseball player. Some might think it was easy for Jackie Robinson, but it was quite the opposite. He received stacks of hate mail, threats to his family, and even some of his own teammates didn’t accept him, but he didn’t stop trying. There were some good things that came with this though, black people supported him with total loyalty and there were many kids and some adults that didn’t
During the 1940 's, the African Americans were segregated from the Whites in America. White people in America had a lot more advantages or opportunities. Up until when Jackie Robinson potentially brought the two races together, many signs of hatred were shown on the African Americans. They had separate schools, restaurants, and transportation systems. Nobody ever thought that the two races would be integrated one day. Predictably, life at this time was not very easy for African Americans. Civil Rights activists, though, were determined to change the way African Americans were treated. In November of 1945, Jackie Robinson broke baseball 's color barrier becoming the first African American to play Major League Baseball. Robinson made his first appearance playing for Brooklyn Dodgers. People were at first skeptical about letting an African American into the sport. Branch Rickey, the Dodgers general manager, ignored the skepticism and gave robinson the go ahead to join his team. Soon they realized that a new era in our country has begun. Jackie Robinson entered the league reluctant to know about the hate that he would get but left one of the greatest players in the sport for not only his talent but what he did for the country. This opened the sport and many other things for the African American race. Jackie Robinson being the first African American to play the game, brought many more African Americans to play and watch the game. Robinson playing baseball
Jackie Robinson, the first African American major league baseball (MLB) player, faced with the problem of racial discrimination. Almost no one thought that an African American person would be able to play baseball in the MLB. Robinson knew that his “teammates refused to accept me because I was black”(Robinson), but