After becoming a second lieutenant, Robinson became engaged to his long-time girlfriend. Her name was Rachel Isum. She had attended UCLA and had been following Robinson’s career at UCLA and Pasadena Junior College (11 Things, 2012). Robinson was then sent to Fort Hood, Texas. In 1944, he was on a unsegregated bus line commissioned by the Army and the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused but once the bus reached the end of the line, the bus driver called in military police to take him into custody. Robinson confronted his duty officer about racist comments and questions made by the officer who took him into custody. The officer had requested him to be court-martialed but Robinson’s commander refused.
The best in the Negro Leagues were Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. Satchel Paige was a well-known ace of a pitcher. It is believed Satchel Paige holds the record for most strikeouts in the Negro Leagues and the single game records for strikeouts. Paige had many games where reporters documented 15+ strikeouts (Baseball Reference, 2010). The other top talent was Josh Gibson. The 6-foot 1-inch catcher is believed to be one of the greatest hitters of all time. Some fans that saw both Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson play called Ruth the white Gibson (Koppett, 1998). Josh Gibson never played in the Major Leagues. Since (like Paige’s statistics) nothing was ever documented, Gibson’s homerun totals were never counted. It is believed he over 1,000 career homeruns and even hit a few 600 foot homeruns out of Yankee Stadium (Baseball Reference, 2010). After a year in the Minor Leagues, Jackie was called up to the Major Leagues. Jackie was the MVP of the international league but it did not go without a lot of controversy. The team faced all sorts of racial abuse and so did Jackie but he held his own and hit .349 for the team. In 1947, he was called up (Koppett, 1998). This effectively broke the Major League color
Babe Ruth is still a very well-known person in history today, even almost one-hundred years later. He did not only change the way people viewed negro baseball leagues, but he also gained a large reputation for his ability to play baseball, obviously due to his amazing abilities. Ruth’s ability to play was almost impossibly good, in fact, he was even titled “athlete of the century” for his ability. With that ability and power that he had once he won, he would become a
In the August 30, 1905 edition of Detroit’s Free Press, the sportswriters ran a small blurb announcing the arrival of a Detroit Tigers rookie, Ty Cobb. They stated, “Cobb left the South Atlantic League with a batting average of .328. He will not pile up anything like that in this league, and he doesn’t expect to” (Allen 177). Their prediction ironically rung true. Cobb hit better than their projected .328 batting average twenty times in his twenty four seasons (McCallum 217). Tyrus Raymond Cobb’s prolific career leads many fans and historians to believe that he deserves the title of greatest hitter of all time. However, some critics would argue that Ted Williams warrants this distinction. Unfortunately for Williams and his fans, the hitting prowess of Williams falls short of Cobb’s. While Williams arguably displayed a great hitting ability, Cobb remains the better batsman.
“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
Josh Gibson hit over 900 or 800 home runs in his career, depending on whose information you consult. His average was over .350. So why do we not hear Gibson's name mentioned in the recent discussion about baseball's best player ever that has surrounded Barry Bonds or at least as the greatest home run hitting catcher ever with Mike Piazza? This is because Josh Gibson played in the Negro Leagues.
There was quite a number of African-Americans playing alongside white athletes on minor and major league teams during the period between the end of the Civil War and 1890, when baseball was known for being mostly integrated. He spent his whole professional career with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947-1956. He put up crazy numbers during his career which led to 6 all-star team selections, a World Series championship, Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, 2 time stolen base leader and a league batting champion. Jackie wore number 42, which was later retired by the MLB.
(Robinson). This proves that he broke a racial barrier that needed to be broken. Although Jackie faced threats racial slurs and more he got through it and integrated into the MLB and changed his
After leaving UCLA his senior year, Robinson enlisted in the US Army during World War II. He trained with the segregated U.S. 761st Tank Battalion. Initially refused entry to Officer Candidate School, he fought for it and eventually was accepted, graduating as a first lieutenant. While training at Fort Hood, Texas, Robinson refused to go to the back of a bus. He was court-martialed for insubordination, and therefore never shipped out to Europe with his unit. He received an honorable discharge in 1944, after being acquitted of all charges at the court-martial.
"Over the decades, African American teams played 445-recorded games against white teams, winning sixty-one percent of them." (Conrads, pg.8) The Negro Leagues were an alternative baseball group for African American baseball player that were denied the right to play with the white baseball payers in the Major League Baseball Association. In 1920, the first African American League was formed, and that paved the way for numerous African American innovation and movements. Fences, and Jackie Robinson: The Biography, raises consciousness about the baseball players that have been overlooked, and the struggle they had to endure simply because of their color.
The time came on April 15, 1947 when the man who would change all this stepped up to bat marking the first time an African American played in the major leagues. Jackie Robinson was the man and the hero of baseball to the black people. With much hope Jackie Robinson and the African American race marked the beginning of the struggle for the ultimate goal which was equality. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He was the son of a sharecropper and life wasn’t ea...
of all time. Babe had a 92 and 44 record, 67.6%, and a 2.24 career earned- run
Actions speak volumes louder than words and Leroy Satchel Paige is a man of his actions rather than his words. The Civil Rights Movement was one of the darkest times in American history but there were rays of lights that shined throughout it. Paige was a skilled ball player who used his antics to gain popularity amongst fans and gave him attention from onlookers. Although Paige was a skilled baseball player the racial events that were taking place during his playing time eye opening to say the least. Jim Crow laws were present and effective throughout the South and segregated a potentially great society. Phobia and pure hatred of a race caused many social figures such as Paige to make a stand for African-American rights.
In 1947 Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers desperately wanted Robinson to play for him and his team. He would become the first black MLB player since 1889 when baseball became discriminated. In his first year he was the Rookie of the Year. He debuted in the International League with the Montreal Royals. This the led to Branch’s interest in Robinson since he was considered one of the best players in the International League and considering it was his first time playing with white men.
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.
This record stood until 1961 when Roger Maris hit 61 home runs. He might have been the best baseball player who ever played the game. He led the Yankees to seven World Series and made two million dollars in his career. Jack "the Manassa Mauler" Dempsey was one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. He was a heavyweight champion and fought and won against Georges Carpentier.
Lanctot, Neil. 2004. Negro league baseball :The rise and ruin of a black institution. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.