Branch Ricky: The Man who Changed it All

The Man who Changed it All

“In October, of 1945, Branch Ricky, then president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, singed Robinson to play for the Montreal Royals, a Brooklyn farm club in the international league. Despite several incidents in spring training in the south and many inconveniences during the season, Robinson,- the first African American ballplayer in that league- excelled as a second baseman and won the league batting crown (Jackie Robinson).” Branch Ricky took a big gamble on Robinson and it paid off big. Jackie Robinson was an amazing athlete who overcame adversity to become the first black to play in the league.

Born Jack Roosevelt Robinson, Jackie grew up in California. He stood out as an athlete in high school and college (Jackie Robinson). In the 1940’s, Jackie left the army, where he then started to play in the Negro leagues. The Negro League was for blacks because before Branch signed Robinson there were no blacks allowed in the majors (Damio, Christy). Jackie was an inspiration to many other blacks dreaming of making it big in the majors. Though he would become most well-known for baseball, he also developed a wide reputation for basketball, football, and track at the University of California, in L.A, while he was there between 1939-1941 (Jackie Robinson).

Jackie Robinson was an amazing athlete. “In 1949 he won the National League batting crown, hitting .342, and was named the NL’s most valuable player (Jackie Robinson).” Jackie was also the first black to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962(Jackie Robinson). During Jackie’s first year, he scored a total of 125 runs and had the most stolen bases in the National League—29 (Damio, Christy). Because of that he was named Rookie of the Year. In 1949 he was also MVP then in 1955 he helped the Dodgers win the World Series (Damio, Christy). His success is what leads him into the Hall of Fame. Since he was the first black in the Hall of Fame it opened up a door for other ethnicities to be able to do the same thing. Jackie knew that it’d be hard to get where he was and he never stopped until he did.

“Jackie knew that it’d be tough. Many people, even some of his own teammates, were angry to see a black man on the team. But Jackie ignored the attacks and played his best. He knew that it was the only way for him (and future black players) to be accepted (Damio, Christy).