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Race relations in sport
Race relations in sport
The life and times of Jackie Robinson
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Jackie Robinson said, “ A life is not important except the impact it has on other lives. He said that because he always wanted to make a difference in the world. Jackie Robinson is a African American baseball player that played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was also a very good athlete and was good at every sport that he played. He also was the very first African American person in the MLB, which took a lot of courage. Because he got a lot of mean comments and letters his first years. He is a very courageous player and respectful person. Most people know why he is famous, he is the a man that broke the color barrier. He is not only one of the first African American baseball player in the world. He is one of the best baseball players to ever play. Overall Jackie is a very good, courageous person and for all we know if Jackie never played there could still be discrimination against African Americans in baseball. Jackie Robinson is known as one of the best because of his courage and outstanding work that he did in the world counting in the league and outside of the league. …show more content…
Jackie was the grandson of a slave and the fifth child of a sharecropper who deserted his family. Jackie was married on February 10, 1946 at Independent Church, Los Angeles. Jackie Robinson became a dad on November 18, 1946 and his name was Jackie Robinson Jr. Jackie was not the only family member that was talented. His brother, Mac, was an Olympic runner and he even finished second to Jesse Owens. Jackie had a great wife Rachel because through all the hard times she always stuck with him and helped him to get thru all the mean comments and letters for meaning in the MLB. Jackie also was a great father and spent a lot of time with his kids when he was not at
“In 1946, there were sixteen Major League Baseball teams, with a total of 400 players on their rosters, every one of the players was white. But when opening day came in 1947, that number dropped to 399, and one man stood apart. (42 2:30)” Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Making Jackie Robinson the first African-American to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Jackie’s transition from the Negro Leagues to MLB was not an easy one. As a player, he transitioned very well, but it was Robinson’s teammates, Dodgers fans, the opposing teams and their fans that tested Jackie every chance they got, some hotels even prohibited the Dodgers to stay in their establishments
Jackie Robinson changed the way baseball is looked at by Americans. Also, he broke a huge barrier in American History. Robinson helped get rid of segregation. He also, is down as one on of the most respected men in baseball history. Not only a wonderful ball player, but also a wonderful man who went through so much and helped create a path for current and future African American baseball players.
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson moved with his mother and siblings to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father deserted the family. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player of football, basketball, track, and baseball; the only athlete in UCLA history to letter in four different sports. He played with Kenny Washington, who would become one of the first black players in the National Football League since the early 1930s. Robinson also met his future wife, Rachel, at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens.
Jackie Robinson, born Jack Roosevelt Robinson, is known for being the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia as the grandson of a slave. He was the youngest of five children and at six months old his father left them. At this time, because it was so hard for African-Americans in the south, his mother Mallie Robinson decided to move them to Pasadena, California where it was easier for African-Americans to live and find jobs.
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
“I’m looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back,” Rickey replied (“Jackie Robinson”).
... impacted baseball and the nationwide civil rights movement. Jackie gave African Americans a sense of pride when he broke the color barrier in the MLB. By breaking the color barrier the civil rights movement became closer to achieving equal rights. Jackie’s on the field accomplishments are extraordinary, but his off the field involvement is what makes Jackie a special man. He was the man who innovated the civil rights movement with his non- violent actions which had an effect on later civil rights activists. Jackie led by example and because of his success many African Americans followed him. Jackie was not concerned with how he would perform in the MLB; he was concerned with how he would affect the civil rights movement and others lives and this showed when he said “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives” (Jackie Robinson Quotes).
Jackie Robinson has made one of the biggest impacts on the game of baseball to date. Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. He was born to Mallie and Jerry Robinson and was the fifth child and the fourth son. Jackie’s father ran out on his family in hopes of a better life when Jackie was only one years old. After his father left, they moved to an all white suburb. At that time most neighborhoods were segregated, so his neighbors made a petition to relocate his family which fortunately did not work. Jackie was raised by a single mother and in poverty. When Jackie was about fourteen years old, he was part of a street gang. One of the people on his street told him that if he would keep hanging out with the gang he would disappoint his mother (Scott 31). In my opinion those words saved
Jackie Robinson faced much adversity through his career, but he eventually gained the respect of thousands across the country and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He was the son of Jerry Robinson and Mallie Robinson. His father Jerry was a plantation farm worker and his mother was a domestic worker. Jackie had four siblings, three brothers and one sister, Edgar, Frank, Mack, and Willa Mae. Jerry Robinson, Jackie’s father, left him, his mother, and his four siblings when Jackie was just six months old and never returned. Jackie’s mother was a very religious women, so she tried to do better for her and her children by moving by railroad out to Pasadena, California. Although conditions were not as bad as they were in Georgia, there was still racial discrimination in California. However the self-respect and self-confidence that Jackie’s mother taught him later would help him later facing the discrimination on the baseball field (Biography.com) So was Jackie Robinson entering Major League Baseball (MLB) a major historical event? Well Jackie Robinson entering the MLB was a major historical event, especially in baseball. Jackie Robinson’s persistence through the adversity he faced paved the way for all the other minorities that play in the MLB in today’s game, he played a part in the civil rights movement, he served in World War II (WWII), and played a variety of different sports throughout his life. His entering into the game was a major milestone in Baseball history.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Georgia. On this day, a legend arrived. Jackie was raised by his mother, and his mother alone. His father left before Jackie was born, and he didn’t remember one thing about him. Jackie had many siblings, brothers and sisters. Jackie had an older brother named Matthew, who was also very athletic. Jackie’s mother tried the best she could to raise these boys right, and teach them that no matter what the whites called them...they were special.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919. He was born in Cairo, Georgia and was originally named Jack Roosevelt Robinson. Jackie Robinson was the fifth child born to parents Jerry Robinson and Mallie McGriff Robinson. His grandparents and great-grandparents worked as slaves on the same property that Jackie's parents farmed. Jerry left the family to look for work in Texas when Jackie was six months old with the promise that he would send for his family once he was settled but he never returned (Georgia).
Jackie was born and raised in Cairo, Georgia 1919. He was raised by his single mother Mallie along with is four siblings. He was the first person at UCLA to obtain a varsity letter in baseball, basketball, football, and track. He married Rachel Isum who he met at UCLA. He however had to leave school due to financial reasons and decided to enlist in the military, but was honorably discharged due to being court-martialed due to his actions against racial discrimination. Jackie played one season in 1945 with the Kansas City Monarchs leading to further achievements in his professional baseball career.
Although Jackie Robinson was not the best African-American baseball player of his time, his attitude and ability to handle racist harassment led the way for the rest of his race to play Major League Baseball, amongst other sports. Being accepted into professional sports also helped African-Americans become more easily accepted into other aspects of life. Jackie's impact in the world for the black population is enormous.
Jackie Robinson grew up in a big family. His mother was a single parent so basically him and his brothers were the men of the house and had to take care of their mother. Jackie Robinson was the youngest of five children and was happily raised by his mother (“Robinson, Jackie Biography, Robinson, Jackie - Black History”). Jackie Robinson was 5’11 and weighed 204 lb. Jackie Robinson attended John Muir High School as a teenager then graduated and attended Pasadena Junior College (“Robinson, Jackie - Black History”). Jackie Robinson was an outstanding athlete in high school and chose to attend a Junior College before going to a big Division 1 school. When he got to Pasadena Junior College, his athletic success started to skyrocket.
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 member of the NAACP and helped recruit members because of his fame from baseball. Jackie had leadership qualities and the courage to fight for his beliefs. Unwilling to accept the racism he had run into all his life, he had a strong need to be accepted at his true worth as a first-class citizen. Robinson was someone who would work for a cause - that of blacks and of America - as well as for himself and his team.