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Topic about Jackie Robinson
Topic about Jackie Robinson
Topic about Jackie Robinson
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When you look at professional baseball, you see players of all race and religion. You might also think about the history of America and think how it wasn’t always that way. Now, all people are created equally, under a new America that doesn’t have segregation. Many people are responsible for this, but who is responsible for baseball? Who brought America’s Pastime to a whole new level? That man is Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson.
Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to ever make it to the MLB. Jackie had been doubted by multiple teams, featuring the Red Sox and the White Sox, presumably because his skin color. But one general manager, Branch Rickey, had seen past his skin color and saw the real Jackie Robinson. The team got lots
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Jackie Robinson also helped create and fund the African American Students Foundation. It was a program focused on bringing very well educated scholars to America. One of the scholars were Barack Obama Sr. Without Jackie Robinson, Barack Obama may of never been our president.
Jackie Robinson did one last thing before he died. He created the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which was made to create educational and leadership programs for underserved kids and teens. This program is still in progress today, and is a quite big success.
Jackie Robinson did not stay long after the foundation was founded, as he died on October 24, 1972. Nobody has forgotten the huge impact Jackie has had on America though, from helping Martin Luther King Jr, to breaking the color barrier in baseball. Baseball would not let him be forgotten though.
All 30 teams in the MLB retired his number, 42. Now the commissioner has instituted the new Jackie Robinson Day to honor this great man. He decided that on every April 15, every single player or coach wears number 42 to honor his first ever game in the major leagues. They also just opened the new Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City. Baseball will never forget Jackie Robinson, and neither will
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major-League baseball. His inspiring actions and wise words are remembered even now, and on Jackie Robinson day, all baseball players wear his jersey:“42”. Many biographies have been written, and one biography, The Noble Experiment. Recently, in April 2013, Legendary Motion Pictures released a movie entitled “42”. In many ways, the film and Jackie’s autobiography are alike. However, the are also different in many ways.
“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
America’s pastime has been complicated in the last couple centuries, and integration has been a big key in the game of baseball. Like most of America in the 1940’s, baseball was segregated, with whites playing in the Major League system and African-Americans playing in the Negro Leagues. There were many factors that made whites and blacks come together, including World War II. Integration caused many downs in the time period, but as baseball grew and grew it was one of the greatest accomplishments in the history. It was hard to find the right black man to start this, they needed a man with baseball abilities and a man who didn’t need to fight back.
Jackie Robinson changed baseball in America in the 1940s by breaking the segregation barrier that was bestowed on baseball. Robinson played in the Negro League for the Kansas City Monarchs. In 1945 Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers negotiated a contract with Robinson that would bring Robinson into the major leagues in 1947. Baseball was segregated because of racial intolerance, economic factors, and other complex reasons. The major leagues would rent out their stadiums to the Negro League teams when their own team would be on the road. For example, if the Brooklyn Dodgers were on the road they would rent out their stadium to the Kansas City Monarchs. Major League team owners also knew if they integrated the Majors the Negro League would lose their best players and the Negro League would be lost. Also, the Majors would lose significant revenue.
Just two days earlier at a banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, many people had paid $25 a plate to show their admiration for Jackie as both a ballplayer and a representative of the Negro race as well. Some of the most distinguished figures in the nation were present this day and their praise was loud and long (Mann 187). Jackie accepted without hesitation a challenge to break a prevailing color barrier in the national sport of America with complete knowledge of how much he depended on him. Few men had ever faced such competitive odds when becoming a player in organized baseball. Despite criticism and opposition, Jack Roosevelt Robinson has truly come a long way from his poor beginnings as the grandson of slaves in Cairo, Georgia, to breaking the racial barriers in major league baseball by becoming its first black athlete and achieving hall of fame status.
After his retirement he continued working as an activist for social change, and worked in a business. He helped establish the African-American-owned and-controlled Freedom Bank, and also worked as an executive for the Chock Full O’Nuts coffee company and restaurant chain. He worked on the board of the NAACP, and in 1967 was the first African–American to be drafted into the Hall of Fame. His number “42” was retired in 1972. On October 24, 1972 in Stamford, Connecticut, Jackie Robinson died of heart problems and diabetes complications.
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.
...u're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." "I don't think that I or any other Negro, as an American citizen, should have to ask for anything that is rightfully his. We are demanding that we just be given the things that are rightfully ours and we're not looking for anything else." In 1972 Jackie Robinson died but his legacy would always live forever. The effects of Robinson can be seen in any place that you come across like the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and even the Wall Street Journal. Since Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947 black society in America has truly broken infinite number of barriers. More important than the improvements in the black race, are the improvements in the entire nation that from his accomplishments was now one step closer to equality. (Quotes)
Jackie Robinson, a famous black baseball player, proved to the world that just because you have a different skin color does not mean that you aren’t as good as someone with a different color skin. Jackie was the first black man to ever sign with and play for a team that was a part of the all-white major league baseball organization. He along with Branch Rickey, the manager of the dodgers who signed Robinson, broke the color barrier in baseball and led the way for other talented Negro ball players to get into the majors.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American baseball player who was known not only as an athlete but also because he was the first black man to become a member of a major-league team in 1947 when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was born in Georgia in 1919 but his father died when he was 5 years old and his mother moved Jackie and his four older siblings to California. He attended University of California at Los Angeles and was a star baseball and football player. He served in World War II and became a lieutenant. After the war he played on several Negro baseball teams. At that time, blacks were not permitted to play on teams in organized baseball. Branch Rickey, who ran the Brooklyn Dodgers team in the National league, decided to force the other teams to accept black players. he selected Robinson as the best Negro teams player for a test. When he first joined the team, there was much opposition to Robinson playing based completely on the fact that he was black , but within a few years blacks were accepted as regular players on most baseball teams after over fifty years of being a segregated sport. Robinson was an outstanding player and in 1949 he led the National League in batting, with an average of .342.
... remained very active for social change. The company Chock Full O’ Nuts hired Jackie as an executive for their business. He also helped establish the Freedom Bank that was owned by African Americans. Jackie was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, and was the first African American to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He also served on the NAACP board until 1967. Then just five short years later, Jackie’s number forty two jersey was retired by the Dodgers organization. Due to heart complications and and diabetes Jackie died on October 24, 1972. After his death he was survived by his wife Rachel Islum along with two of their three children(biography.com.) Jackie’s life and legacy will forever will be remembered for all of time. In 1997 every team in Major League Baseball celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Jackie entering the MLB(jackierobinson.com.)
Crack! Back, back, back the ball goes. Home run! Who hit it? It was Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in the major league. Many people would agree Jackie was one of the best players to ever swing a bat. However, he faced many difficulties on his journey to becoming a professional baseball player. Without Jackie playing in the pros, baseball and civil rights wouldn’t be the way it is today. Baseball may have taken a long time to not be made up of mainly white players. Jackie was a beacon of hope to black people in the fact that they could compete and succeed in a white man’s sport.
Breaking the Racial Barrier in Baseball 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. According to Jessie Jackson, "A champion wins a World Series or an Olympic event and is hoisted on the shoulders of the fans.
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.
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”- Jackie Robinson. In this quote Jackie is talking to people and telling them to do well in their lives and to worry about others not only themselves. In the 1940s, when Jackie was out in public he and all other African Americans in the United States were “bullied” but when he was playing baseball he had to ignore the nasty comments. If not then he would have to quit baseball because he would be thrown out. He had a very good heart and tried to hold in his emotions towards the white fans in the stands. That’s why on October 23, 1945 Jackie Robinson signed to major league contract and became the first black man to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Ricky Branch the Dodgers manager signed Jackie because of his heart and good attitude. Many say that there were many player in the negro league with a better skills but Jackie had the best heart and was one of the only ones who could face the mean fans and not fight back just take and play better on the field. Jackie Robinson was an influential person of the 20th century because his influence on civil rights, his influence on the MLB and breaking the color barrier, and his philanthropic endeavors.