Jackie Robinson It was 1955, first game of the World Series. The Brooklyn Dodgers were down four to six, losing to the New York Yankees. During the 8th inning, with two outs, Jackie Robinson does something that not many can say they have done. He steals home to bring the Dodgers with-in one. Though they did not win this game, the Dodgers went on to win the World Series. This is an exciting moment in history, however, it is only one of Jackie Robinson's many accomplishments. Others include, rising above his raising, serving in the United States Army, being the first minority in a major league sport, and overcoming racial harassment. Because of these impressive achievements throughout his lifetime he has become of the most influential people in America's history. Growing up Jackie Robinson was raised by a single mother in relative poverty. In high school, he was an excellent athlete playing four sports: football, basketball, track, and baseball. In 1938, Robinson was chosen as the region’s Most Valuable Player in baseball. Though he grew up in harder conditions than most, he didn't use that as an excuse. His situation as a child didn’t hold him back, but rather motivated him to be exceptional in all he did. His older brother inspired him to pursue his talent and love for athletics. Continuing his education, Robinson, attended the University of California, Los Angeles. There he was the first to win four varsity letters. Right before graduation he was forced to leave UCLA due
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 was an important figure in the civil rights movement. His greatest accomplishment, however, was integrating baseball. He made many Americans excited about it because he was the first African American to ever play in Major League Baseball. Also, he did many things for the civil rights movement. The integration of baseball set off a reaction of different movements to desegregate places like schools, public facilities, and the army.
Jackie was a modern day hero, he went through all the 12 steps. Mainly, he was heavily doubted but he surpassed all the expectations. Jackie destroyed all the test put in front of him and broke the racial barrier. Jackie open up the international league to all races. Baseball wouldn't be baseball without Jackie
“Near six o’clock on the evening of January 31, 1919, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born somewhere near the town of Cairo in Grandy County in southern Georgia” (Rampersad 10). Jackie’s parents, Jerry and Mallie Robinson, first lived together on a small plantation just south of Cairo. Mallie Robinson raised her five children single handedly, and they later moved to Pasadena, California, which was not the most racially friendly environment due to the Robinsons being the only black family on the block. Not having a father in the home, he looked up to his older brothers and saw them as his future, they are the ones who introduced him into the sports
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.
Brave, courageous, daring, bold, these all describe the baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Jackie was the first African American major league baseball player. (Jackie Robinson official website) Things were not always easy but he had many supporters and motivators to keep him going.( Britannica encyclopedia) Since Jackie never gave up through all of the harsh comments and criticism as he carried on being the first African American baseball player, African Americans are now allowed to play in the major leagues and all around the world.
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
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the MLB in 1947 once he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. This impacted Major League Baseball because no black player had ever been in the MLB. Also Jackie helped contribute to the Dodgers going to six world series. The way this contribution impacted the world is because he led the Dodgers to the World Series which is a big event. Another contribution is that Jackie helped the U.S Army.
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
He was the youngest of five children raised in a single-parent home. After Robinson graduated high school, he attended a small junior college in Pasadena where he excelled in multiple sports including basketball, track, football, and of course baseball, which he earned the title of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1938. After two-years at Pasadena J.C., Jackie then transferred to UCLA in 1939 and continued his athletic career in four sports; in fact he became the first person to earn a varsity letter in four different sports. Despite being a stud in, well, everything, Jackie decided to take another route and joined the United States Army from 1942-1944 (Dreier) and served as second lieutenant. Though, he never combat because in 1944, during boot camp, he was arrested and court-martialed after refusing to give up his seat and move to the back of a segregated bus; sound familiar? Luckily it was overruled and he received an honorable
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on others”(Robinson). This is the standpoint Jackie Robinson had on life being a black person during his time period. He was a strong and courageous man despite the hardships that were set in his lifetime. He was faced with poverty, low income, and racial threats, but was granted with the gift of being a great athlete. Jackie Robinson being the first black MLB player had a great affect on American history because he helped boost morale, pushed toward civil rights, and integrated blacks into white sports.
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
The Civil Rights Movement was a very important event in the African-American’s push for equality. Many major events happened throughout the movement that involved violence, criticism, and racism towards the blacks. African-American’s were being treated extremely unfairly and unequal to white people, almost like they were not human. Many individuals had a huge impact on this movement such as Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, and Emmit Till. The Civil Rights Movement was a very influential period in American history that impacted millions of lives.