Research Paper On Jackie Robinson's Pastime

Throughout his professional career, Jackie Robinson, received criticism for being the first “black” player to play the game. Not only did Jackie Robinson manage to live up to the criticism, he also changed the face of America’s greatest past time forever. With his entrance into the MLB he opened the path for great black players like Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Ozzie Smith just to name a few. In crossing the color-barrier in baseball Robinson not only strived as a great player on the field, but also a inspiration to the black community of the field with his humility, and willingness to move forward in a time where blacks were not considered “equal”.

The MLB didn’t start until 1876 with the National league and then they brought in the American league in 1901. The first World Series was held in 1903 with the Boston Americans beating the Pittsburg pirates 5-3. Baseball hasn’t always been glorified as it was though. It experienced rough times in the 1940’s when African Americans weren’t allowed to play in the major league but thanks to Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, they eliminated the racial discrimination in baseball and outside the baseball world. Baseball has also experienced rough times during the WWII and Vietnam era. During the time of war, players would go and serve in the military and baseball would have to replace them with less talented players. But Upon return, baseball returned to its once prestige self.

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,

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 1946, Jackie Robinson altered the course of major league baseball forever, he did what no man ever did before him, Robinson broke the color barrier after 15 years of it withstanding (“Jackie”). Before Robinson, there were no African Americans in MLB

“In 1944, the sport was segregated, and African- Americans and whites played in separate leagues” (“Robinson” 3). This quote shows blacks and whites did not get along. “ Rickey knew there would be difficult times ahead for the young athlete, and so made Robinson promise to not fight back” (“Robinson” 3). This quote shows that the General Manager of the Dodgers knew that there would be problems.“ On April 15, 1947 (Jackie Robinson Day) making history as the first black athlete to play Major League Baseball” (“Robinson” 3). This quote shows that Jackie made history in the game of baseball and changed the world. The next topic will be A Name for

     "Over the decades, African American teams played 445-recorded games against white teams, winning sixty-one percent of them." (Conrads, pg.8) The Negro Leagues were an alternative baseball group for African American baseball player that were denied the right to play with the white baseball payers in the Major League Baseball Association. In 1920, the first African American League was formed, and that paved the way for numerous African American innovation and movements. Fences, and Jackie Robinson: The Biography, raises consciousness about the baseball players that have been overlooked, and the struggle they had to endure simply because of their color.

The first record of baseball in the United States began in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1791. Its popularity spread quickly through the town and the

Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby were very determined to stick with the game they loved and to make a change. Thanks to their performance both on and off the ball field, “other owners began to seek talented black players, and by 1952, there were 150 black players in organized baseball” (Branch). Their “actions had repercussions far beyond the sports world” (Jim). The integration of baseball was an enormous smack in the face to all of segregation. Many racial barriers quickly tumbled down with the integration of baseball; restaurants, hotels, and stores removed their “white only” signs bringing blacks and whites together. Robinson and Doby could not have won the battle against segregation on their own, the press helped to make their struggle to be known throughout the country.

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.

“Jackie Robinson is perhaps the most historically significant baseball player ever, ranking with Babe Ruth in terms of his impact on the national pastime. Ruth changed the way baseball was played; Jackie Robinson changed the way Americans thought. When Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, more than sixty years of racial segregation in major-league baseball came to an end. He was the first acknowledged black player to perform in the Major Leagues in the twentieth century and went on to be the first to win a batting title, the first to win the Most Valuable Player award, and the first to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He won major-league baseball's first official Rookie of the Year award and was the first baseball player, black or white, to be featured on a United States postage stamp”(swaine,

In 1947, Major League Baseball changed forever because of hall of fame player Jackie Robinson. As a result of discrimination and segregation in America it was very difficult for black people to exercise their rights during this time period. Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s Jackie Robinson’s baseball career dramatically changed as he was the first African American Major League Baseball player. However after signing to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers integration started to become a reality in some societies today. The efforts of Jackie Robinson enabled the Civil Rights Movement to gain the national attention in order to succeed.

Baseball was a segregated sport until the mid-1940s, when Jackie Robinson broke the game's color barrier, prompted by a daring baseball executive, Branch Rickey. Robinson endured many challenges to prove his prowess as an athlete, be accepted as an important contributor to the sport, and most important, to defend and uphold the dignity of his race. Robinson changed our nation profoundly and enabled the black players who followed him to enter the game with dignity. Robinson endured many challenges to prove his prowess as an athlete, be accepted as an important contributor to the sport, and most important, to defend and uphold the dignity of his race. Robinson clearly made the difference so that others could follow.

In 1869 Cincinnati formed the first paid baseball team in American history. First played professionally in 1876, the National League, the name for the league at the time, made Baseball the first professional sport ever to be played in America. During this time players would generally jump around from team to team and even league to league. In 1903 Major League Baseball was founded. America’s game had a new home. A home for whites that is. Blacks were excluded from professional sports.

African Americans and women are two of the most discussed groups when it comes to United States sports history. Jackie Robinson is credited with being the first African American to play in the major leagues and “may well have been the most influential black American of the past 50 years,” (Gorn and Oriard, 1995). His work allowed the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates to field the first all African American and Latino line-up twenty-four years later. To this day, he is honored throughout baseball on April 15th every year. His number, 42, is retired throughout the majors, and is only ever worn on Jackie Robinson Day. Decades after his death, Jackie Robinson is still remembered for the barriers he broke for African Americans in the Negro Leagues, as well