Elizabeth Kelly
March 10, 2014
Research Paper
Being a famous boxer, you might think it would be easy, but the boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, had a hard time making his way to the professional league. He nearly drowned as a kid, was abused sexually, and was not the tallest kid in school. Even as an adult Ray faced depression, drug addiction, and being an occasional heavy drinker. But even all that did not stop him from pursuing his dream, one he never had a plan for, after two of his brothers talked him into the rough sport.
On May 17, 1956, the well-known boxer, Sugar Ray Leonard, was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Named after his mother’s favorite singer, Ray Charles, his real name, is not often used. When Leonard was three years old, they moved to Washington D.C. Being one of six kids was hard for the parents of Leonard. Then seven years later, his family finally moved into a nice, permanent home in Palmer Park, Maryland, a Baltimore suburb. Sadly as a child, Ray witnessed many crimes and deaths in his neighborhood. He also had some friends die in these areas.
When Cicero, Ray’s dad, was a child, he worked long hours in the field. Then later he met Getha. They started dating, then got married and had children. With finances often tight, his parents, Cicero and Getha, had to work hard for their large household. Ray Leonard’s mother, Getha, worked as a nurse. His father, Cicero, worked as a late night supermarket manager so he was usually gone during the night.
Ray Leonard was never a problem in school. He got good grade and never was a problem for his parents or the teachers. As a child, Leonard loved to read comic books. He had a friend who was someone who fought in lots of fights and was f...
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... in the ring, Leonard decided to retire in 1984. Sugar Ray did not stay retired because in 1987 he started fighting again. As more fights passed, he decided to retire for good in 1997 with a record of 36-3-1 and 25 knockouts. In that same year of 1997 Ray Leonard was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
After Leonard’s fantastic career ended, he has been introduced to the camera in a good and different way. Sugar Ray is Khole Kardashian’s godfather, so he has been on a couple episodes of “Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s”. Leonard has also been season 12 of “Dancing with the Stars”.
Even after all Sugar Ray Leonard has been through, he still managed an outstanding boxing career. He was abused, had gotten in a divorce, and lived in unsafe areas with many crimes, but nothing could stop the boxing star from playing the sport he loved.
Your dreams of being someone may not turn out the way you think they will. The documentary Hoop Dreams is a story about two boys from the ghetto that want to play in the NBA. Arthur ¨Man”Agee goes to Marshalls and William Gates goes to St. Joseph’s which are both situated in Illinois, where their dreams of becoming a pro basketball player vanished. Both of the boys face obstacles that are outside of themselves. Arthur´s family struggled with money, education, and pressure from others hurts him. Also, William struggled with balancing his family with basketball, the pressure from others, and education.
like Ray. Archibald Graham never got to bat in the majors, and that was what
America was founded, and has been very successful because of people like Ray, who want to leave their backgrounds or use them to learn from them in order to better their lives in the future; the kind of people that will do anything, whether it is leaving their homeland for a foreign soil in search of a new life and freedom, or tackling the boy with the football. Things have been changed, invented, and made better by people that will not take no for an answer.
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.
“After Braddock’s boxing comeback he returned all of the welfare money he received. Also he made several donations to various Catholic Worker Houses and fed the homeless.”
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.
Lewis, who was born in a time of rejection, shows that you can achieve your dreams if you want to. Even though he faced many road blocks to his career as a runner, he was still highly successful. He tried everything he could to make it happen, and in the end he did. He also showed how wrong people were of thinking that he was incapable because of his background. He completely changed racial barriers for the better in the sport’s world. Sadly, this wonderful person passed away on November 15, 2003, but that doesn’t mean his legacy doesn’t live on. Ray Lewis is an inspiring person who had a huge impact in the world just because of a simple dream, and that shows that everyone is capable of having an impact, if only you follow your dream.
...ore vocal and strived for equality among all people.” Ray feels these injustices towards women early in her life and continues to fight for them. When she was young she “raved at her [mother] about the injustice of women’s work” (Ray 203). She was raised by her mother to be a girly-girl, but influenced by the land, her brothers, and her dad, and choose to be who she wanted to be.
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.
A) After Dexter Scott King heard Ray’s side to the story he said’ “Having met with James Earl Ray, I believe and my family believes this man is innocent”
Jackie Robinson realized that he was an athlete at a young age. His motivation was his older brother Mathew Robinson. Jackie’s older brother Mathew was in the 1936 Olympics...
...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.
According to Jessie Jackson, "A champion wins a World Series or an Olympic event and is hoisted on the shoulders of the fans. A hero carries the people on his shoulders" (Robinson 3). This is what made Jackie Robinson a hero to African-Americans. Robinson's achievement goes beyond the statistics and championships he earned on the field. He opened the door for his entire race to play professional sports and gain acceptance as more desegregation took place. After fighting in World War II from 1941 until 1944, Jackie played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues from 1944 until 1946. In 1946, he was selected as the best person to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Ray Kroc was born in Oak Park Illinois in the fifth of October of the year 1902. At the age of four Ray's destiny was read when his father took him to a phrenologist who predicted he was going to have a career in food.
A perfect athlete should make an impact on the world and use his or her talents to influence and encourage less fortunate people. For example, the NBA 2016 MVP and one of the best basketball players of all time, LeBron James. James always credits his fellow teammates and family for his success and returned home to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to victory for 2016 NBA Championship. Another major team player who has made an impact is former NFL (National Football League) linebacker, Ray Lewis. As stated by Brittany Jacobs, a correspondent for Bleacher Report, a digital sports broadcasting company, Lewis was one of the premier leaders in the NFL. Jacobs writes, “Ray Lewis is more than just a football player. Ray Lewis has become an emblem of all the Baltimore Ravens want to be. A dominant force that inspires all those in the