Jackie Robinson and his Effect on Sports History Many people are stuck behind the thought of of not being good enough or not having the courage to push through obstacles to get to where they want to be. One specific individual has proven to show moral courage and can teach others to never give up on what they believe in and push past obstacles to reach their goals. Fighting through all the people who told him he couldn’t, Jackie Robinson has proven to be one of the most influential men during a period of discrimination. Robinson was an amazing major league baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After his father had left his mother and his four other siblings, his family decided to move to Pasadena, California where they lived as the only black family in a white neighborhood (“Jackie Robinson”). They were often tormented and harassed, which helped to boost his determination and focus. He enrolled at the university of and became a four sport star athlete where his talent in baseball was discovered. Jackie Robinson has proven to be a …show more content…
One specific man was National League president, Ford Frick. All Jackie had wanted was respect. He never cared if people had liked him or not. Many other teams had threatened to boycott games played against the Dodgers, and the catcher was refusing to play on a team with a black man (“Jackie Robinson”). Ford had said, “If any players go on strike they will be kicked out of the league. If even half the league went on strike, I would kick them all out” (Frick). As a National League president, he can terminate any player's contract and kick full teams out of the league (“Jackie Robinson”). He had stepped in an defended Jackie by threatening to kick players off when they began disrespecting him and also the team he played on. Jackie has finally begun to get the respect he deserved after a little help stepped in to take
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.
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
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the MLB. Back then many people's point of view about African Americans was that they had some things, but the things should be worse than what the things white people had, and because of that he was proud yet uneasy because he would get a lot of hate for playing, and he did. The thing is he didn’t only get hate, but he also got threats against him and his family to physically harm him,“The hate mail piled up. There were threats against me and my family and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me.” Being in the MLB was hard and he could’ve given up, but he didn’t. Jackie Robinson stayed strong and he changed our point of view about African Americans not doing things that only white people could do and he helped our country change for the better
Jackie Robinson once said “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives”. True heroes, living among ordinary people, have paved the roads of today's world. One person who has exactly done this and not received nearly enough credit is Jackie Robinson. When people think of Jackie Robinson they think of the man who stole second base continuously, when in reality he did more, Jackie Robinson opened the gate for African American’s to play major league baseball. Born in 1919 Jackie was brought up in a society that was characterized by racial segregation and inequality, He fought through the era and made himself known all around the world for being the first African American to play major league baseball. Jackie
As Rickey told Jackie what he was looking for in a black ballplayer that was strong enough not to fight back against the abuse and discrimination. Jackie signed the contract on October 23, 1945, and was sent to the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league team, the Montreal Royals.(Rampersad, 135). When Robinson and the Royals arrived to Florida for spring training, Jackie got a taste of racism. Jackie was not allowed to sleep at the hotel where his fellow teammates were because of the racial segregating, Jim Crow laws.(Harnischfeger, Corey). Robinson was feeling the pressure of racial discrimination but with the help of Rachel he continued to pursue to the MLB. On April 18th, 1946, Robinson made his long awaited minor league debut. He ended up complying 4 hit out of 5 at bats with one homerun. At the end of the season, Jackie won the most valuable player award. (Rampersad, 136-155). Before the start of the 1947 season, Robinson was called up to the MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers. Then On April 15, 1947, Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in front of 26 thousand plus people, with many of the attendees being African Americans. Jackie Robinson being called up to the MLB brought some racial tension. Jackie was the subject of death threats from fans and even players, including some teammates, not wanting to play on the same field as him.(Tygiel, 125). When some of Jackie’s
It has been said that real heroes risk their lives for others and Jackie Robinson has proven to be a hero. Robinson was “the first African American major league ballplayer of the twentieth century” (Scott 2) and has influenced many people on and off the field. When he “took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day, April 15, 1947, he forever changed the face of major league baseball (“Jackie Robinson - Changing Major League Baseball”, 0:06-0:16). Throughout his years of playing on the field, he became a “militant campaigner for civil rights” (Scott 6) to show how it is important to America's history. Robinson has made major contributions to the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement by showing his courage, confidence, and what he stands for.
Jackie Robinson's entry into the Major Leagues was far from a walk in the park. He climbed over countless obstacles just to play with white men, some of which, he was better then. He not only had to compete with the returning players from the war, but he also contended with racism. "Many towns in the South did not want racially mixed teams"(Weidhorn 53). As time went on, cities realized that Robinson offered them free publicity.
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
Jackie Robinson was the first black player ever drafted to play in American Major League Baseball (MLB). Coach Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers took a risk in April 15, 1947 when he drafted Jackie as his first and second baseman, recruiting a black man when traditionally blacks could only play in the Negro League (MLB). Breaking the segregation of the league meant Coach Rickey, the Dodgers, the MLB and Jackie were all under protest of those against racial equality (Scott). Because of this controversy Jackie was treated poorly his own teammates, umpires and the public leading to threats including Jackie’s murder
In http://m.mlb.com/player/121314/jackie-robinson it says, “Jackie Robinson became the first black athlete to play Major League Baseball in the 20th century when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Throughout his decade-long career, Robinson distinguished himself as one of the game's most talented and exciting players, recording an impressive .311 career batting average. He was also a vocal civil rights activist. He died in Connecticut in 1972 from heart problems and diabetes complication.An exceptional base runner, Jackie Robinson stole home 19 times in his career, setting a league record.”
Robinson had was persistence. Whether he’s playing in a game or practicing, Jackie never gave up on his dreams, even when he wasn’t being supported by his team-mates and friends. He had many obstacles in his way by breaking the ‘colour barrier’ in 1947. He persevered through them and never stopped while he was being mistreated. For Jackie, it was really hard to support his family financially in the early years. He wasn’t paid very well as black baseball player. Jackie Roosevelt Robinson helped the Brooklyn Dodgers (Major League baseball team in Brooklyn), and in return he was treated poorly. Fans of the Dodgers and opponents were yelling racist comments and spitting on him. Usually teammates were supportive of a player on the team, but not Jackie’s. They even signed a petition protesting against playing on the same field as Jackie because of his skin colour. Even though he was poorly treated, he kept playing despite what others thought about
Jackie Robinson faced a life changing event when the people discriminated him, they did not know his personality or what kind of person he was; they judged him because of his skin color. His teammates in the MLB did not like him either. Jackie got death threats in the mail and was forced to live with “rebuffs and snubs” (Robinson). With all the hate Jackie received he got stronger and worked harder. When Jackie got stronger and worked harder he became an even better baseball player than before. After Jackie became better his teammates realized that Jackie was a really good baseball player. Jackie’s team mates started to train him because they knew that with a player like Jackie they would win more games and their “wallets would be filled” (Jackie Robinson) by the end of the season.
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 actions changed his life for him, others, and history. Jackie Robinson dealt with racism, changing, and challenges when he integrated to baseball and that changed his life and history. He faced racist insults from fans, other teams and their owners, and even his own teammates. "It hadn't been that easy to fight the resentment expressed by players on other teams, the team owner, or by bigoted fans screaming n---"(Jackie Robinson). It was very hard on him to struggle through all of that hate. People just at that time were very racist and mad that there was an African American in MLB. All of that hate must have put a different perspective of the world and change his life. Even though he had to face all the hate, he had a different changing life moment. That moment was him joining
The issue, Racism and segregation in sports. The answer, Jackie Robinison. “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives,” a quote by Jackie Robinson. Jack Roosevelt Robinson, born on January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. His mother Mallie and his father Jerry were sharecroppers at the time and lived on a plantation. Jerry Robinson made just about $12 dollars a month which was not enough to support a total of five children. Jerry went to his boss and was allowed the opportunity to become a half-cropper which means that he gains profit off of the produce. This allowed him to gain a higher income and therefore provide for his family. Six months after Jackie’s birth, his father went to go visit his brother in Texas and never returned. They soon found out that Jerry had actually ran away with the neighbors wife. To this day Jackie has no idea what became of his father but could only look at him with disdain because he asked himself what type of man would leave his wife and 5 kids to fend for themselves in such an oppressive time period? Jackie and his family then moved to Pasadena, Ca. When his family moved, Jackie’s mother, with help from her niece, moved into a white neighborhood. Manfred Weidhorn noted in his biography, Jackie Robinson, "Jackie was proud of his mother, who would not allow the white neighbors to drive her away or frighten her or mistreat her kids. From her he learned to stand up for his rights. He learned to respect himself, demand