Jackie Robinson Influence On African American Sports

league and changed the game; now there is no racial barrier because of Jackie Robinson. Jackie

Jackie was born January 31, 1919 to a five sibling family. He looked up to his oldest brother who in 1936 won a silver medal in the Olympics. Jackie went to college at UCLA and join the military, and when refusing to move to the back of the bus was honorably discharged. He ended up leaving two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor.For a short time Jackie play semi pro football. In 1947 he was drafted to the Brooklyn Dodgers and received rookie of the year that same year. Jackie led the NL with 29 steals, second with 125 runs scored, and co-lead Dodgers at 12 homers. Also he was batting at .300 that pulled together a 21 game hitting streak. In 1957 Jackie retired and 9 days before he died Jackie said he wants to live to see a black

Jackie was born in Cairo Georgia, 1919, he was the only black family on their block. He went to UCLA for college and played four sports there. In 1945 Jackie played a season of Negro League Baseball. He then got drafted into the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and won Rookie of the Year, he even broke the barriers of colored baseball. He was insulted and was threatened during his baseball career, but also thought he was the most exciting player of them all and African Americans came from all over to watch him. In 1949 he broke emotional and political silence and won the MVP award. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers for 10 years before retiring in 1957. He got married to Rachel Robinson and they had three kids. After baseball he was a spokesman for

Robinson always had a lot of hated built up his whole life, because of the way he, and his friends, and family had been treated. He had an incredible athletic ability. When Robinson was in college, he became the first athlete to letter in four sports, football, basketball, baseball, and even track (“Jackie Robinson”). In 1941, after Jackie’s junior year of college, he joined the military. Three years later, in 1944, Robinson went to court for refusing to give up his seat in the front of the military bus, and move to the back.

Robinson starts out by telling us how her father was born in a racially bias time in the United States. She tells about the hardships her father faces as a child because he is African American. Jackie starts to play school sports, and he shows that he has a special talent for sports.

Jackie fought racism in his California childhood, at collage and throughout his whole life. During his childhood at California he was always picked on at school. Kids taunted him so much and so badly that he developed a hot temper.

Jackie Robinson’s background and childhood environment had a major impact on the ways he went about changing African American lives. He is famous for saying that “a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives” (Jackie 1). Jack (Jackie) Roosevelt Robinson is famously well-known for becoming the first black player in the major leagues and playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. He also was the youngest of five children and he was raised by a single mother. His older brother, Matthew, actually inspired him to pursue his dream in sports. Surprisingly, Matthew won a silver medal in the 200-meter-dash, just behind Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. Jackie went to John Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College, which are the places where he played a various amount of sports growing up. His reputation as a household name began to gain traction during this time. He was awarded the Region’s Most Valuable

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.

Even though there was animosity between these two races, Jackie Robinson’s success was necessary for increased equality for blacks. Jackie Robinson was influential because he had a positive impact on black baseball players and on black and white societies. Throughout Jackie Robinson’s life, he had endured many obstacles and challenges that influenced many

His actions helped more African Americans believe that they could play in professional sports. Robinson becoming the first black major league baseball player helped change the way white people thought of black

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

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.

Jackie believed that God had plans for him that were beyond what anyone would have thought. In 1942 more than ten years before the famous Rosa Parks incident happened, Jackie was involved in a similar conflict. He was told by an officer to leave his seat on the white section of the bus and move to the back of the bus but Jackie refused. The scene quickly escalated but Jackie stood still and refused to answer to the officer. This resulted in a court trial for Robinson, who was facing "dishonorable discharge." He fought in court and proved that what happened was a violation against the segregation code of the army and won this case. This led for him to leave the army without this incident on his record. His way of acting against racism was a strong part of his personality, a part that people will see never die. He used his talent which is his amazing athletic ability to reach the pinnacle of where he was trying to be. When it came to sports it did not take long to realize that Jackie was extremely gifted. In College at UCLA Jackie excelled in sports more than anyone else. (SABR)

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

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on others' lives." This quote was said by Jackie Robinson who was important in paving the way for other black athletes in professional sports. He was the first black baseball player to play in Major League Baseball.What would professional sports be without all the greatest black athletes such as Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali or Jackie Robinson? Today the NBA is filled with a large majority of African American players. The NBA would be nothing without those players. Muhammad Ali was a boxer, businessman and social activist for equal rights for all races. He wanted equal opportunities for all men, regardless of color, to be successful. Michael Jordan was considered the best basketball