Jackie Robinson : An Absolute Legend

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.

Pitchers often threw the ball directly at Robinson, base runners tried to spike him, and he was subjected to a steady stream of racial insults. He received hate mail, death threats, and even warnings that his baby boy would be kidnapped. Through it all, Robinson held his tongue in deference to Rickey's wishes. Robinson let his playing do the talking, and before long he was known as one of the most exciting players in baseball. Soon fans both black and white were filling ballparks to see him in action, and the Dodgers set new attendance records. Most of his fellow teammates fully supported him as they became convinced of Robinson's value to the club. The Dodgers won the pennant in 1947 and Jackie, at the age of twenty eight, was named Rookie of the Year, an award that would be named after him in 1987.

Jackie Robinson showed perseverance, courage, and determination wherever he went. Even when he was in the army, he moved ranks up quickly. This shows he was determined. When he was trying to achieve his goal of breaking the color barrier, he never gave up. Eventually, he integrated the major league baseball teams. When he first joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, he didn’t care about the prejudice. He just ignored it and carried on. In fact, he even stood up to it. In the text “ Free Minds and Hearts at Work” it states,” Whatever obstacles I found made me fight all the harder. But it would have been impossible for me to fight at

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

The game of baseball evolved immensely during the 1900’s. There were new rules and rule changes, new teams in new states, and then there was Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was a true legend from the day he was born in 1919. Baseball had it all in the first half of the 1900’s, fans filled the stadiums day after day, even during the war times. There was a big-name player on almost every team, children and adults admired these professional baseball players. The only thing professional baseball didn’t have during these times were African American players. Learning about the hardships that he had to overcome as a young boy, and the accomplishments he made from his college days at UCLA, to becoming the first African American professional baseball player, Jackie made it known that he was an American hero.

Jackie Robinson faced many obstacles to become one of the best baseball players ever. He used many values to become over the color barrier in baseball. Not only did Robinson change baseball, but he also changed society. Jackie completely changed the way Americans thought. Jackie used many values to break the color barrier, and here is how I used some of his values to break my own barrier.

Why is Jackie Robinson one of the most iconic people in history? Because Robinson defied segregation by playing Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1945 to 1956 (Wise 2). He bravely fought for many years to play as an African-American player without giving up; despite all the hurdles he had to jump, Robinson silently overcame the obstacles that they handed to him with quiet dignity (Henninger 7). As a result, Robinson well represented the African-American community in professional sports, and in so doing, he helped inspire others in the Civil Rights Movement. Robinson was the start to ending the color barrier.

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

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.

Jackie Robinson brought baseball fans of all races together and it improved race relations because even though their was still hatred, white people were getting eased into racial integration since Jackie Robinson was laying the foundations of civil rights. Robinson was loved by many and hated by plenty, every game he played he packed the stands whether it be fans who are cheering for him or booing him. According to the biography by Wilson “Many fans came out to cheer Robinson, and a lot came out to boo him but both groups bought tickets” (75). He performed so well on the baseball field that the fans would lose sight of his color, and the stands were predominantly white so he was doing so well with a very unsupportive fan base. In the biography

Jackie Robinson once said, "A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives," and impacting lives was exactly what he did. Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born Jan. 31, 1919. He became the first black person to play Major League Baseball and endured appalling acts of discrimination. He led the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the 1955 World Series, 6 NL Pennants, and received many other awards such as NL MVP and Rookie of the Year. Besides playing baseball, Jackie Robinson became a Civil Rights advocate, working with many other leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. while in the process of becoming one of the most well known, respected athletes in the world, thanks to his courage and perseverance.

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