Jackie Robinson Struggles

In 1919, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia. His family being sharecroppers, Jackie's mother, Mallie, raised Jackie and his four other siblings.(JackieRobinson.com) Being the only black family on the block, his family faced discrimination and racism from neighbors all around. From a humble beginning, Jackie was an outstanding athlete.(larrylester42.com) Jackie was promoted from Washington Junior High. Later, he entered John Muir High School after his junior high career. Recognizing his athletic ability, Robinson's older brothers inspired Jackie to pursue sports.(Jackierobinson.com)

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919. He was born in Cairo, Georgia and was the youngest of five children. He had a grandfather that was a slave, Jackie’s dad was a sharecropper and Mallie, Jackie’s mother, was a maid. His dad ran away from the family when Jackie was only an infant.

In order to understand why the integration of baseball was so important, one must understand the importance of baseball during this period. For the past 100 years, baseball could be considered more than the National Pastime and looked at as akin to a national religion. Had Jackie Robinson integrated a different sport such as football or basketball, he would not be remembered today (Gimbel). However, though Robinson possessed incredible talent, there were few people that were willing to draft him, or any African American onto their team. Luckily, sixty-three-year old Branch Ricky recognized that the introduction of African American

Jackie Robinson was an African-American who played for a “Negro League” for a team call the Kansas City Monarchs. Their team colors being white with thin red stripes going vertically down the uniform. But a manager from the MLB’s jaw dropped to the floor when he saw how great of a player Jackie was, and decided to do something that nobody ever thought would happen. “I had never seen a ball player,” stated the Dodgers manager. “quite like Jackie Robinson.” He drafted Jackie Robinson in to the MLB for a team called the Brooklyn Dodgers, but just because something good happens, doesn’t mean that there will a few obstacles along the way.

In the early to mid-1900s, the races in America were characterized by legal segregation because of lingering racism in America. Jackie Robinson worked his entire career not only to become one of the greatest Major League Baseball players, but also to break the color barrier in baseball. Players, coaches, and managers made a “rule” in 1884 that no African-American man could play baseball on a white team (Graf 2). Despite this decision, Branch Rickey (2) decided there needed to be a change and offered Robinson a contract with the LA Dodgers. Robinson questioned himself and questioned why Ricky chose him to break the color barrier. Rickey stated, “Robinson, I’m looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back” (Brown 3).

Since 1839, baseball was a white man’s game. That would all change when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1942. This would be a major victory for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Before Robinson entered the league, African Americans played in the National Negro League and Whites played in the MLB(Major League Baseball). At this time in history blacks were still fighting for equality every single day. They were segregated by going to different schools than whites, drinking from different water fountains than whites, sitting in the back of the bus, etc. Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player in a white league and one of the greatest athletes of all time. He was able to achieve this despite

“Jackie Robinson was born on the thirty first day of January in 1919”. (biography.com) He was born to a family of sharecroppers in the town of Cairo Georgia, but Jackie grew up in Pasadena California. (Jackie Robinson official website) Jackie grew up being raised by only his mother and his older siblings helped out as well. He had four siblings, three older brothers and one sister. (Britannica encyclopedia) Jackie was the youngest of five kids and they all helped out each other in school, sports, and chores. The Robinson family was the only African American family on their block, but the bias acts of the white people surrounding them didn’t hurt them, but prepared them for their future. (Jackie Robinson official website) Jackie’s older brother Matthew gave him his inspiration to take on sports just as he did. He has always had a huge love for sports in his childhood years. (Jackie Robinson book pg: 4)

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.

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.

The man who broke the color barrier, Jackie Robinson. Robinson was the first African-American to play in the MLB. Robinson overcame many obstacles in his career the main ones being racism and segregation. Robinson had a 10 year career with the Dodgers. Robinson became a civil rights activist being involved in the NAACP after his retirement from baseball. Jackie has received numerous awards not only for his physical abilities but for his impact he made on the world.

Jackie Robinson was born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major league in 1947, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Throughout his decade-long career with the Dodgers, Robinson made advancements in the cause of civil rights for black athletes. In 1955, he helped the Dodgers win the World Series. He retired in 1957 with a career batting average of 311. Robinson died in Connecticut in 1972.

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.

Everyday life for him was having to stay at different hotels, or eat at different restaurants than his teammates. These things put his family at risk, whether it be receiving harsh language, or finding an equitable place to sleep. He knew these segregating laws were not fair, and the risks of safety were high, and still put up with the harsh treatments to prove his point of equality. Despite these things, he knew what he was doing would eventually lead to the full integration of sports. When the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers gave Robinson the chance to break the unwritten color barrier, he gladly accepted. He would have given anything to show that a black man was just as competent as a white. And he did. In 1981, his wish came true with an estimated 19% of Major League baseball players being African American, a startling change from the previous years.(mlblogs.com) Now, nearly 70 years later, all sports are integrated without a thought to color or race. This accomplishment made a huge difference to the black members of society and to our history in general. Jackie Robinson got his wish, even though he didn't live long enough to see it happen all the way through. Because of him, black players now have an equal opportunity to play and take part in the sports they

On Friday June 19, 1846 the first officially recorded baseball game in American History was played. Six months before this event slavery was abolished on December 18, 1865. Just because African Americans were free from slavery did not mean they were free. Almost all things in America were segregated between whites and blacks, including the game of baseball until one day an African American man by the name of Jackie Robinson broke the color line of American baseball.

The Major League Baseball (MLB) was a segregated organization until Jackie Robinson came along. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in the MLB. Before Jackie, all African-Americans had to play in the Negro Leagues because they were not allowed in the MLB. Jackie Joined the league in 1947 and got a lot of backlash from fans. People did not want him to play because they thought that he was not good enough or that he was not worthy enough because of his race. Jackie and his family would get death threats from angry whites that wanted him out of the league. His house and belongings would get vandalized and destroyed. People would verbally and physically abuse him but Jackie would stand strong and take it like a real man. Despite the amount of hatred and backlash Jackie Robinson endured his first year in the league, he was named Rookie of the Year for the National League. Jackie Robinson was a very important role model for African-Americans, he showed bravery, courage, and determination.