The Color Legacy in Major Leage Baseball

Jackie Robinson is known for breaking the color barrier in his first major league baseball game on April 15, 1947. Many people were shocked at an African American player in a baseball game so many gathered inside the stadium as the game went on. After his amazing baseball career came to an end Jackie gave political speeches on views of Martin

Baseball has always been a part of America’s pastime. From Babe Ruth calling his shot to Cy Young winning 511 games, baseball has always been a sport of chance. Baseball is a sport where one has to give the other team an opportunity to win. A team cannot run the clock down until the game is over; the other team always has a chance to win the game. The fate of a team always lies in their own hands. The same chance for success was given to Jackie Robinson when Branch Rickey brought him into the major leagues. If Robinson could put up respectable statistics and play with class and dignity he could win the heart of a country. In Rubinstein’s article it states, “Following Rickey’s lead, some Major League clubs were quick to integrate” (“Rubinstein” 25). Jackie’s perseverance lead to a huge wave of Negro players into Major League baseball. Players like Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, and Willie Mays became stars of the league all because of Robinson. As stated in Rubinstein’s article “By the

Jackie Robinson is known for his will and determination, in a game where African Americans were not allowed to play. Major league baseball (MLB), was the biggest professional baseball league in the country but was racially segregated. Growing up in poverty, Jackie Robinson faced many struggles. Jackie was a great athlete that could play multiple sports, just not major league baseball. He competed and excelled at numerous sports, including basketball and football. As good as an athlete he was, Jackie Robinson obtained a college degree and attended UCLA. He played baseball in the all black, Negro leagues, until he broke the MLB’s color barrier in 1947. Though Jackie was mostly known for his athletic abilities, he did his part as a civil rights

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'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.

“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,

Jules Tygiel, a sports historian and author once said, “Upon Robinson’s husky, inexperienced shoulders rested the fate of desegregation in baseball”(Tygiel 4). Jackie Robinson was not just the first black man to play in the MLB. Jackie Robinson opened up the door for all black baseball players, and athletes of all different sports. America needed a black man to show them that it was okay for blacks and whites to be together, to play baseball together. Jackie did exactly that. Although Jackie loved the professional baseball, professional baseball did not always love him. Jackie and the MLB did not always go well. Many teams didn’t like a negro sharing a field with them, in fact, the St. Louis Cardinals even went on strike for a short time(“Jackie Robinson”). Jackie’s presence made some teams forfeit games. However, the Dodgers did not care, they were just trying to win baseball games. Jackie knew when he came into the league it was going to be a struggle. He knew it was going to be hard, not only to help the Dodgers win games, but to stay level headed and not let off-field distractions affect his game. Jackie was once quoted saying “I think I am the right man for the test. There is no possible chance that I will flunk it or quit before the end for any other reason other than that I am not a good enough ballplayer.”(“Jackie Robinson”) It was going to take a special man to break the color barrier, and Jackie knew

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

If you have heard about baseball, you have probably heard the name Jackie Robinson. One of the most important names ever in the sport. He broke so many barriers with his skill and bravery. He left a great legacy that changed the lives of many.

He looked in the Negro Leagues for a player who was both talented enough to hold his own and had enough character to not fight back. Rickey theorized that if Robinson could not contain his emotions, the color barrier may not be broken for another twenty years. But, Rickey found the right man in Robinson and he quickly made his way up to the big leagues. After a few games Jackie Robinson proved that he had the ability to play at the highest level. “Robinson led the Dodgers to the National League Pennant and was named Rookie of the Year.”

Jackie Robinson was great baseball player and athlete which really helped him in his push for equality. Even though some of the pitchers would try to hit Jackie with the ball to injure him , he thrived through this rough time and hit tons of home runs. People might not think he is one of the best because he didn't hit the most homeruns, but he was at a big disadvantage being the FIRST black MLB player and he was still pretty darn good.

Throughout the 1940’s, our view on American’s baseball has changed substantially. Segregation has been a part of baseball for several decades. Jackie Robinson, an Africa American bore near Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919, started a new revolution for American baseball. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play major league baseball in the 1940’s (York). Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, Branch Rickey drafted Jackie on April 15, 1947. This was the beginning of Jackie embarking on his new revolution for American baseball (- Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson).

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

In 1947 when the Dodgers started him, people of color could not play. By playing, Jackie ended the racial segregation that had relegated blacks to play in the Negro leagues since 1880’s. His humbleness challenged traditional segregations which marked other aspects of American life. He made an impact on the culture and contribution to the civil rights movement. In the 1960’s

Jackie Robinson, born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo was one of the first black athlete to be incorporated to join the major league baseball during the 20th century. Robinson managed to be a world-class player, and in 1947 he got signed to Brooklyn. He was not only a great player in the fields but also a vocal civil right activist. One of the remarkable major accomplishments in his career was that of helping the Dodgers win the World Series. However, he willingly retired during late 1957, having achieved most and won major tournaments (Gomez 10).