Jackie Robinson : Breaking The Color Barriers

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.

“Robinson faced death threats, vulgar insults, and hate-filled fans”(Jackie Robinson para 3). It’s because he was the first African-American baseball player in major league baseball and nobody liked him because of that. Jackie Robinson was a brave, hardworking men that accomplished a lot in his life for baseball and African-American community. Jackie Robinson had a positive influence on African Americans because he was the first African-American baseball player in major league baseball, he was a founder of ways to help African-American and he was a civil rights advocate for African-Americans.

Although the court case of Plessy v. Ferguson declared segregation to be legal as long as things were equal in 1896, baseball had already done this about ten years prior. There was a creation of the Negro League in the 1920s through the 1940s so that African Americans could have the same opportunities and white players even though they were not allowed on any of the major league teams. Jackie Robinson was a rookie player on the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro League team, and being along side Satchel Paige, no one even noticed who he was. According to the reading in Jackie Robinson and Race in America by Thomas Zeiler, Satchel Paige was the first negro player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and he possibly believed to be one of the best pitchers of all time. Another comrade of Robinson’s during his time in the Negro League would be Josh Gibson, one of the greatest catchers and hitters of all time. The owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers,

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.

In the biography Jackie Robinson and the American Dilemma by John R. M. Wilson, it tells the story of racial injustice done after world war II and explains how Jackie Robinson was pioneer of better race relations in the United States. The obstacles Jackie Robinson overcame were amazing, he had the responsibility to convert the institutions, customs, and attitudes that had defined race relations in the United States. Seldom has history ever placed so much of a strain on one person. I am addressing the importance of Jackie Robinson’s trials and triumphs to American racial dynamics in the post war period to show how Robinson was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and brought baseball fans together regardless of race.

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 Robinson: athlete, social activist, hero. These are just some of the words people use to describe Jackie. Robinson was the first person to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, at the time officially designated a white man’s sport. The blacks and whites played in separate leagues but Branch Rickey, vice president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, wanted to integrate Major League Baseball. At this time in the 1940s the Unites States was still segregated and the Jim Crow Laws still reigned heavily in the south. Integration didn’t start until 1948 when Truman signed Executive Order 9981 which integrated the military. This didn’t occur until after Robinson took the field as the first African-American to play in the major leagues.

Robinson later moved to Florida to practice his spring training with the Royals. This is where he became the first black player to ever play in a major league baseball game. Even though Rickey knew times would get hard for Jackie, he made Jackie promise to never fight back when the racism started to hit him. Robinson’s reactions to the racism were also tested by Rickey at the beginning of his career. Some of Robinson’s team mates didn’t agree with him being on their team. Jackie and his parents were threatened by people in the crowds.

Beginning with childhood games with his neighbors, he excelled at all sports he attempted. He played four sports during his time in middle and high school, becoming the region’s most valuable player in baseball in 1938. He attended the University of California Los Angeles, winning varsity letters in four sports. He had to leave UCLA just before graduation due to financial issues. He began playing football for the Honolulu Bears, but this was also cut short when the United States entered World War I. He served in the army for two years, from 1942-1944, as a secondhand lieutenant. Robinson was arrested in 1945 for refusing to give up his seat on a public bus, but later he was acquitted. After his time in the army, he began playing baseball professionally in an all African American league for the Kansas City Monarchs (Dorinson). Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, chose Robinson to begin to integrate Major League Baseball. This became known as “Rickey’s Noble Experiment” (Robinson). He saw good character in Robinson, and knew he could get positive press and support from the African American community. Robinson started by playing for the Montreal Royals in 1946, and Rickey prepared Robinson for the trials he would soon face. Similar to Walker, reactions to him weren’t always positive. Some of his own teammates didn’t want him to play, and crowds disliked him. Despite the negativity thrown in his

(“Wesley Branch Rickey”)Robinson not only was the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues, he and Mr. Rickey disproved all of the people who believed he couldn’t play with the greats of the era like Yogi Berra, Harmon Killebrew, and Mickey Mantle. Robinson drew more and more crowds and became a powerful figure in the fight against segregation. “In the late 1940’s he challenged Jim Crow laws by scheduling Dodger exhibitions throughout the South, forcing local officials to integrate or lose a sell-out crowd.” (“Wesley Branch Rickey”) The south was unwilling to accept Robinson until he drew such a crowd and so much money that officials were forced to let Robinson play.

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 fought to be the first African-American player in the MLB which means that he integrated the MLB. He did go through hardships like in this quote from “I Never Had It Made”, “I was forced to live snubs, rebuffs, and rejections.” At this time most of his teammates didn’t accept him because he was black. Later on in the years, he got more inspiration from his wife, Branch Rickey, and children. In the quote, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the small, shrill voice of a tiny white kid who … cried out “Attaboy, Jackie.” Children just wanted him to deliver wins for the team and to succeed. Jackie was one of many people that had turning points in their lives which changed their lives and their society.

Jackie Robinson was chosen to integrate Major League Baseball during a time in history when blacks were not accepted as a part of the Major Leagues. On his path to becoming the first black player in the Major Leagues, he had to endure many challenges, such as racism expressed through insults, physical harm, and pressure from his teammates, other baseball owners, and fans. This can be shown in paragraph three of his autobiography, where Robinson states, “It hadn't been that easy to fight the resentment expressed by players on other teams, by the team owners, or by bigoted fans screaming ‘n-----.’” This explains how opposition outside the Dodgers team was severe and came from many places because society did not accept him since he was a black player in the Major Leagues, which no one else had been before. Despite the

“In 1945, professional baseball was a segregated sport. There were no African Americans playing on any  Major League Baseball teams. They played in negro leagues on teams such as: Homestead Greys, The Birmingham Black Barons, and the Kansas City Monarchs”(Rappaport, 129). Shortly after, Jackie Robinson left the Army, and later played shortstop for the Monarchs. He was a good hitter, fielder and a, smart base runner.Negro league baseball attracted large crowds, sometimes even larger than all-white major League teams playing in the same city. In light of Robinson’s skills, pitch times, and batting averages, an opportunity arose and he had to take it. On August 28, 1945, Branch Ricky, the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, met with Jackie Robinson. Ricky told Robison that he Would like for him to play for the Dodgers, but he could expect some trouble. To Persuade Jackie into playing, Ricky stated, “ i’m looking for ball player with the guts not to fight back.”Given a command, Jackie throughout his career adhered to his boss. But I have to say, there were times when he got so angry that he question the game of baseball, but ultimately Jackie Robinson stood