Ted Williams: A True All American
"A man has to have goals-for a day, for a lifetime-and that was mine, to have people say, 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived'" ("My Turn At Bat" 128).
Theodore Samuel Williams was born on August 30th 1918 in San Diego, California. His father, a photographer, named him after the late outspoken president Teddy Roosevelt.His mother was a salvation worker of Mexican descent ("My Turn At Bat"15). His parents, who he later came to resent, were poor and constantly working
("My Turn At Bat"16). This left Ted with lots of free time. So he hung out at baseball diamonds and developed a batting stroke that would become legendary.
After graduation from Herbert Hoover High School, Williams' talents got him a contract with a minor league baseball team in San Diego ("My Turn at Bat" 26). His progressed very quickly, and two years later, Williams was the starting left fielder for the Boston Red Sox.
In the two decades which Ted Williams played he was a baseball icon. His first season was extraordinary. As a rookie in 1939, Williams hit .327 and popped 31 home runs over the Fenway walls, giving Red Sox fans a glimpse of what they would see for years to come. He was quickly nicknamed The Splendid Splinter and The Kid commanding attention as a natural hitter (Wikipedia).
He had one of the game's most glorious seasons in 1941, hitting for an average of .406 at the age of twenty three. He is the last player to accomplish this feat. Nevertheless, he lost out on the most valuable player award that year to Joe DiMaggio, who had posted his 56 game hitting streak that same year. He most likely lost this MVP award because of his lack of respect and his arrogance to many of the sports writers and media, who are the ones who vote for the winner ( Nightingale).
Williams responded by going out the next season and winning the triple crown. He led the league in hitting, home runs, and runs batted in (Wikipedia). Despite the praise from the Boston fans, Williams would hear their boos the loudest. After making an error which caused an out roar of boos, he vowed never to tip his hat to the fans in appreciation again and he never did. Boston writers attacked him in the press as being arrogant and ungrateful ("My Turn At Bat" 88).
Babe Ruth is still a very well-known person in history today, even almost one-hundred years later. He did not only change the way people viewed negro baseball leagues, but he also gained a large reputation for his ability to play baseball, obviously due to his amazing abilities. Ruth’s ability to play was almost impossibly good, in fact, he was even titled “athlete of the century” for his ability. With that ability and power that he had once he won, he would become a
of the greatest knuckleball pitchers in the MLB. His story to never give up, no matter what life throws at
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 in New York City, New York in the United States. Theodore was the second child of four children in a wealthy, upper-class family. Theodore’s father was a businessman and philanthropist. Theodore’s mother was also born from an affluent family. Starting at a very early age, Theodore suffered from a heavy case of asthma and had horrible eyesight throughout his whole life. He did a lot of physical activity and developed a very strong physique. Despite physical barriers, Theodore had a very strong outlook on life and was very strong physically and mentally. Theodore was also very intelligent and he attended Harvard College and Columbia Law School.
Many considered Clemens’ best years the 13 seasons he was at the Red Sox. After 1996 he was not re-signed by the Red Sox because they felt he was in the twilight of his career. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays where he struggled a lot early on. Despite these early struggles, his career had a resurgence that many did not see coming. This resurgence is what caused the speculations of steroid use. After two years with the Toronto Blue Jays he won had the Cy Young award and the pitching Triple Crown both seasons. The triple crown is awarded to the pitcher that, at seasons end, leads the league in the three major categories: earned run average, wins, and strikeouts.
He was later inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962. Jackie Robinson should not only be recognized for his on-field accomplishments, but for what it took for him to get there as well. Throughout all of the racism in America and baseball, he endured it and pushed through it to set himself up for ultimate success. He endured the hardships of being the only African-American in the league at the time and taking all the hate from the racists, while still putting up remarkable numbers. Even as a white man during the time of integration in baseball, you could have nothing but respect for Jackie Robinson.
Albert Pujols said, “Baseball was an outlet for him to be able to do that, and he had some special talent to go through what he did and still set an example for others. You cannot replace it.”
Theodore Roosevelt JR. was born on October 27, 1858, in New York to Theodore Roosevelt SR. and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt JR. was a very sick boy, he suffered from asthmatic attacks which caused the frightening sensation of drowning (Grondahl 2015 7-8). These sensations and attacks caused Theodore a lot of obstacles in his childhood. By attending Harvard College in 1875 when he was just seventeen years old, Theodore was able to push past all his setbacks from his childhood (Grondahl 2015 37). After attending Harvard and graduating in 1880
Since then he has led his team to five world series titles and become the team captain. He is known for his good looks and quiet confidence. He is still playing shortstop for the Yankee’s today and never stops improving. More world series titles are seen in his future.
The greatness cannot begin to be quantified in statistics and numbers. Ty Cobb redefined the words hard work and determination by stretching his limited God-given ability to the maximum, and making himself into a baseball legend. Cobb throughout his lifetime insisted that he was "not a super athlete, rather he had a great desire to win." Thus, Ty Cobb’s motivation and determination to excel created a pathway to his success.
Jackie (Robinson), we’ve got no army. There’s virtually nobody on our side. No owners, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I’m afraid that many fans will be hostile. We’ll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I’m doing this because you are a great ballplayer, a fine gentleman. (Quoted in Giants of Baseball, Gutman, Rickey)
His pitching performance was great during the series showing off his new pitches and also using his demanding fastball too. Again took the Monarchs took the World Series in 1946 and lost in a 3-2 series allowing the Newark Eagles to become the
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.
This record stood until 1961 when Roger Maris hit 61 home runs. He might have been the best baseball player who ever played the game. He led the Yankees to seven World Series and made two million dollars in his career. Jack "the Manassa Mauler" Dempsey was one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. He was a heavyweight champion and fought and won against Georges Carpentier.
Hank Aaron was a famous baseball player who was respectful to his teammates and his fans. His nickname was “Hammerin’ Hank”. At one time he led the league in the most home runs. He was born in a poor family and then grew up to be a great professional baseball player. He became one of the most admired baseball players in Major League history.
Robinson was born the youngest of five children near Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919. Robinson’s father, a sharecropper, left the family when Robinson was only about 2 years old. His mother, named Mallie McGriff Robinson, moved to Pasadena, California, to find work. (James 5) Trouble found Robinson at an early age, when he became a member of the Pasadena gang (7). At that school, he played several sports. He even lettered in: track, baseball, football, and basketball. His largest inspiration was most likely his older brother Matthew. He was a shortstop and catcher on the baseball team, a quarterback on the football team, a guard...