How Baseball was changed by Jackie Robinson 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. Branch Rickey had been around baseball all his life. He was a player, coach, manager, and team owner for over sixty years. Branch Rickey was nominated into baseball’s hall of fame and on his plaque it mentions his signing of Jackie Robinson. Branch Rickey chose Robinson because he knew he would be able to take all the abuse and keep his cool. Also, he knew Robinson was an outstanding ball player. Branch Rickey has always wanted to integrate baseball since early in his career. Rickey was looking for a strong person who would be able to take the public scrutiny, avoid confrontation, and also a talented ball player. Rickey set his eyes on Robinson because he has had experience in integrating other sports. Robinson attended UCLA and lettered in four other sports. Branch Rickey met with Robinson is August of 1945 after scouting the Negro League... ... middle of paper ... ...ring in more minorities into the game. According to a study done by the University of Central Florida’s Racial and Gender Report Card, 9.1 percent of Major League Baseball players are African American (Gonzalez). That number has not been higher than 15 percent in the last 20 years. 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.” 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.
“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 was chosen by Ricky, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he had made baseball a national sport and succeeded as the first successful black baseball player. However, Jackie Robinson had written, “In a very real sense, black people helped make the experiment succeed. Many who came to the ball park had not been baseball fans before I began to play in the big leagues. Suppressed and repressed for so many years, they needed a victorious black man as a symbol. It would help them believe in themselves. But black support of the first black man in the majors was a complicated matter. The breakthrough created as much danger as it did hope.”(I Never Had It Made
Since early on, Jackie Robinson believed that God had a special purpose for him. Coming from a Christian background, Jackie Robinson believed that God was preparing him for something big, but he could still not see just what that would be (cite to pg 37). Growing up he excelled in many sports. Whether it was on the football field, on the basketball court, or out on the baseball field, Robinson encountered quite a bit of success wherever he went. (cite) Despite the talents of many African American baseball players, many were deemed inferior to their white counterparts. The sense of inferiority led many baseball players and owners of the teams in the Negro leagues to adjust to the status quo, however, Robinson was not one to simply seek to fulfill the status quo. Robinson was unwilling to conform with what mainstream society tried to force him to conform with, he constantly told his teammates that they should always be ready, someday one of them would be signed to break the color barrier and play in organized ball (cite to pg 48) . Unlike many of his peers, he felt a different calling in the sport of baseball. While many of his peers in the Negro leagues were openly accepting institutionalized racism, Robinson demanded equality and dignity as an African-American athlete and
Jackie Robinson first played baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues in 1945. Robinson was first pursued by the Boston Red Sox, a Major League team, but they never replied back to him after his workout (Rampersad 89). Later on in August of 1945 Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent a scout to observe and bring in Jackie Robinson (Rampersad 125). When the scout approached Robinson he told him that Rickey was going to start a Negro League team called the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers. What the scout and Robinson did not understand was the persistence of Rickey to meet and speak with him. Robinson eventually agreed and on August 28 in Brooklyn met with Branch Rickey. Rickey immediately told him to marry because he knew that if Robinson accepted he would need the support of a loving wife (Rampersad 126). Rickey then shocked him when he said he wanted
While some praised the addition of a black person in baseball, many did not. Robinson goes into detail about his positive relationship with several players, along with his heated association with Walter O’Malley, the Dodger owner, as well as the prominent sportswriter Dick Young, who racism revealed itself in many of Young’s own writing. During his first appearance as a major league baseball player in 1947, Robinsons says that some players were outraged they had to play with him; Rickey said if anyone didn’t want to play with him they could simply leave the
Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and vice president, Branch Rickey, had always been bothered by the unwritten and unspoken color line in major league baseball. In 1945, he took advantage of his power as manager and called for a meeting with Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro League team (“About Jackie Robinson”). He had always secretly scouted Negro League teams in hopes of finding the right candidate. One who had enough talent, but also had enough guts to not jeer back at the harsh remarks of racist fans, players, and even coaches (Rubinstein). Rickey was driven to partake in this great experiment because he was bothered by his experience while checking his team into a hotel one night as the varsity baseball coach for Ohio-Wesleyan University (Nicholson). The desk clerk told Rickey they had available rooms for everyone except for Charley Thomas, who was black. Rickey questioned their policy and requested that Thomas stay in his room with him. After long contemplations, the desk clerk gave in, but when Rickey got to his room Charley Thomas was sitting on the chair crying. “‘Charley was pulling frantically at his hands, pulling his hands. He looked at me and said ‘It’s my skin. If I could just tear it off, I’d be like everybody else. It’s my skin, it’s my skin, Mr. Rickey!’’” (Nicholson).
Jackie Robinson not only became the first African American baseball player, he also made the movement for the first African American president and equal rights (Bilyeu). Mr. Robinson would later sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 23rd, 1945, thus becoming the first professional negro baseball player (Young). Baseball wasn’t fully ready for a colored player, so Jackie played one year for the Dodgers minor league team Montreal (Young). There he would lead the International League in hitting over all the white athletes (Bilyeu). Just before the start of the 1947 season Robinson had received a phone call on April 10th telling him that he would be on the Dodgers the upcoming season (Bilyeu). On April 15th, 1947 he had made his Major League debut and had started his journey to silence the critics and show everyone that it doesn’t matter the color of your skin, but if you can play you can play (Bilyeu).
pril 15, 1947, the day that changed baseball. Jackie Robinson played his first game in the Major Leagues, breaking the color barrier. Jackie Robinson was born January 31,1919 in Cairo, Georgia. Jackie Robinson was the greatest player in baseball history. He was the first to break the color barrier for baseball. Robinson was so great, that baseball retired his number for all teams forever. Jackie Robinson changed baseball, and the world forever.
Jackie Robinson was the most influential ball player of all time. Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. Robinson had a tough childhood since his dad left his family when he was only 1 year old. This was very difficult for his family, so Jackie, his mom, and his 4 siblings moved to California. This move actually helped Jackie in the long run as he later attended UCLA. At UCLA, Jackie became the first 4-letter man. This meant that he was the first person in the school’s history to join four varsity sports teams. From there, Jackie went on to the army and then to the Negro Leagues. During his time in the Negro Leagues, Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was looking for a black man to break the
In the quote above, Branch Rickey is attempting to explain the difficult journey ahead not just for Robinson, but for Rickey as well. The courage needed to attempt this during this time period is unimaginable. If it had not been for Robinson’s courage he would have never had the opportunity to play major league baseball.
Do you know anything about Jackie Robinson? Well don’t worry, if you don’t I will explain to you. Jackie Robinson is an inspiration by entering the Major League Baseball and changing history. I think this because he made white players accept him and by changing segregation.
...obinson he made an impact on a lot of people’s life’s in that time. He showed that the color of your skin does not define what you can do in life. He made the path for all African Americans who wanted to play in the Major Leagues. In the article “Jackie Robinson: A Portrait in Courage” Richard Griffin states, “ I think the stress took 20 years off Jackie’s life, ‘he said, with a hint of sadness. ‘But I’ll tell you what. Jackie Robinson did more for all of us in his 53 years than any man who lived to 90 could ever do” (6). He was someone who risked it all to show the world that African Americans were equal when he could of turned Branch Rickey down the moment he asked him to join the Major Leagues. Jackie Robinson died in 1972 in October due to heart attack but his legacy will live on because there will be no other man like Jackie Robinson in Major League Baseball.
The Desegregation of baseball in America was a slow process. Near the end of the 1800's, African American ballplayers were accepted in the Major Leagues, but as their success grew, they were quickly banned from the league. For the fifty-year period that there were no blacks in the Major Leagues, the Negro Leagues were where black ballplayers competed. The Negro Leagues grew and many stars emerged from the leagues that now have a legendary status. When Jackie Robinson joined the Major Leagues in 1954, baseball was once again desegregated (Sailer). The complete integration of the league was not as rapid as many would have expected. Economic reasons seemed to be the main reason why African Americans were brought back into the Major Leagues but there were other factors that contributed.
Boom! This sound was very common coming off the bat of Jackie Robinson when he was on the baseball field, but it had a resounding echo on society and especially those fighting for the rights of blacks in the United States. While Jackie Robinson was an incredible player on the field, his more significant impacts were actually on areas of society other than baseball. Until 1947, when Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and manager Branch Rickey, no other African American had ever played in Major League baseball. This was huge news throughout the United States, and Robinson was voted America’s second most popular personality, only behind Bing Crosby (Dorinson, 2012, p. 55). Until this point, African Americans had been dealing with the constraints of the Jim Crow laws, which enforced segregation of African Americans from whites. However, Robinson breaking the color barrier in a previously completely white sport turned some heads and made people rethink the situation of blacks in American society. Rubenstein (2003) attributed that “one of baseball’s most important roles has been to
Rickey was a general manager, president, and eventually a 1/3 owner of the Dodgers in 1942. Many saw him as an eccentric man, he was known for being a Methodist man. Branch had been keeping an eye out for a “perfect” candidate to integrate baseball. In the movie 42, they show the process of choosing the perfect candidate that would be used to integrate baseball, they saw Jackie Robinson and they his record and that he knew when to not talk, when to defend himself, and that he had previously played on an integrated team, USC football. Branch felt as if those were the necessary qualities, which the person who would break the baseball color line needed. Many rumors have spread about why Branch Rickey decided to break the color barrier, one of the most well-known one is that financially, the Brooklyn Dodgers were not financially well