How Is Jackie Robinson A Baseball Player Like No Other

JACKIE ROBINSON 3

Jackie Robinson: A Baseball Player Like No Other

Jackie Robinson lived during a time full of hate and discrimination, but he changed American history on and off of the field by breaking the Major League Baseball color barrier and fighting alongside Martin Luther King Jr. for civil rights.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson, commonly called Jackie, made his name well known before his days in Major League Baseball (MLB). Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia during the year 1919. Jackie Robinson was first introduced into the spotlight while playing multiple sports at Pasadena Junior College and the University of California, Los Angeles. Jackie was not the only one in the spotlight from his family, his brother, Matthew

Robinson played first base, a position putting him within earshot of the visiting team (Simon, 2002). Robinson did a solid job at first, but he stole the show when he layed down a perfect bunt to set up the game winning run in the seventh inning (Simon, 2002). With Jackie already making plays, 52,000 people swarmed to the Polo Grounds for the next game to witness the first colored MLB player of the twentieth century (Simon, 2002). Jackie’s playmaking ability on the field was creating fans along with some who still thought Jackie had no business in the MLB.

Everywhere you looked, people were hating on Jackie Robinson. Major white owned newspapers would intentionally leave out Robinson’s hits, runs, and stolen bases from their game articles (Simon, 2002). Other teams would yell out ugly slurs as Robinson would play first base (Simon, 2002). Death threats and hate mail poured into the Dodgers’ front office. Early on in the season, some teams boycotted playing the Dodgers because of Jackie Robinson. In times of hardship, Jackie had to stop and think about the bigger picture. No matter how well Robinson played, people could not get over the fact that he was

Robinson began speaking for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for equal rights for all. Jackie Robinson would unite with famous civil rights movement leader, Martin Luther King Jr. (Simon, 2002). Robinson and King became great friends and Jackie even stood feet away from King when King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech (Bertha, 2016). After King’s tragic death, Robinson would continue to speak out against segregation and equal rights for all. Jackie Robinson became known for his fight for civil rights just as much as his fight on the baseball field.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson, the man who integrated baseball and fought for civil rights, died on October 24, 1972. Jackie died in his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from a heart attack. Robinson was only 53 years old, much too young for a leader like him to pass away. Although Jackie Robinson lived a relatively short life, he lived his life to the fullest. Jackie Robinson left a legacy that has been felt in every generation since his heroic