Jackie Robinson : The First African American to Play in Major League Baseball

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Jackie Robison was the first African American to play in the major leagues. He was a big thing for baseball, that he revolutionized the game forever. Jackie was an impact in the 1960s and generations to come. Jackie Robinson had a big influence on all sports. He got rid of racial rules in sports, gave hope to African Americans, but had hard times in the League, and was a good role model to all. He was an exciting player to watch as well. He won many awards in his baseball career. He played second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was number 42. Now a day baseball players are not allowed to wear the number 42 out of respect for Jackie Robinson.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. They were the only black family on their block, and the prejudice they encountered only strengthened their bond. Growing up in a large, single-parent family, Jackie excelled early at all sports and learned to make his own way in life. At UCLA, Jackie became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1941, he was named to the All-American football team. Due to financial difficulties, he was forced to leave college, and eventually decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. After two years in the army, he had progressed to second lieutenant. Jackie's army career was cut short when he was court-martialed in relation to his objections with incidents of racial discrimination. In the end, Jackie left the Army with an honorable discharge.
Jackie married Rachel Isum, a nursing student he met at UCLA, in 1946. As an African-American baseball player, Jackie was on display fo...

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...ts Field, Jackie didn't retaliate.
In fact, baseball's "Great Experiment" was a huge success. Despite the concerns of the owners, integration proved to be a financial windfall for Major League Baseball. Robinson and the Dodgers eclipsed the home attendance record they had set the previous year. They also broke single-game attendance records in every National League ballpark they played in during the 1947 season, with the exception of Cincinnati's Crosley Field, where the attendance record for the first major-league night game held up. Near the end of the season, Jackie was feted by fans with a day in his honor. At year's end, he finished runner-up to crooner Bing Crosby in a national popularity poll.

Works Cited

Schwartz, L. (n.d.). Jackie changed face of sports. Retrieved 4 22, 2014, from Espn Sports Century: espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016431.html

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