The Significant Impact Of Jackie Robinson's Impact On Baseball

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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
His impact on sports was huge, but he only affected the athletes and fans for the most part. Also, it made a very positive impact, but for no real significant purpose for the entirety of society. Sports are nothing but entertainment for fans that are not on the teams or in the organizations, and this effect did not have a significant effect on their lifestyles. Robinson left a substantial mark on other areas of American society though, that have much more meaning to society as a whole such as the military and human rights. According to Lomax (1999), the theme throughout Robinson’s career was “the utilization of his role as a pioneer to eliminate racial barriers” (para. 47). This role went beyond just being a pioneer in

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