Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball is a biography written about the famous colored baseball player, Jack Roosevelt Robinson. Scott Simon wrote the biography and released it in 2002. The Washington Post said, “Perhaps no one has ever told the tale [of Robinson’s arrival in the major leagues] so well as [Simon] does in this extended essay,” after reading the book. Simon indicates that he wrote this biography because Jackie Robinson was a hero to so many. This biography recollects the events that Jackie went through on his way to changing the history of baseball, but more importantly the history of America. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball during a time when people of color were forced to drink out of separate drinking fountains and sit at the back or the bus. Jackie Robinson’s …show more content…
The spotlight on Jackie did not appear on him, however, until he was able to showcase his athletic ability at Pasadena Junior College and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Following Jackie’s days at UCLA, Robinson entered the Army and became known as lieutenant Robinson. After disputes over having to sit at the back of a military bus, Jackie Robinson was honorably discharged. This event gave Robinson an opportunity to play baseball while others were at war, and eventually resulted in him finding his way onto the Dodgers organization (with some help from Branch Rickey). Jackie started out in the minor league, but his outstanding efforts led him to being pulled up to the majors. Robinson’s new teammates created a petition against playing with Jackie, but one talk with Branch Rickey
Jackie Robinson: Breaking The Baseball Color Barrier When Jackie Robison took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947 it not only changed his life but changed Major League Baseball forever. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cario, Georgia on January 31, 1919 to a family of four children and a single mother. He grew up as a stellar athlete excelling in four different sports: baseball, basketball, track, and football. In 1938 he was named the region's most valuable player for baseball. He attended University of California, Los Angeles where he became the schools first athlete to win varsity letters in four different sports.
Robinson had a tremendous amount of talent, which didn’t go unnoticed. Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager liked Jackie’s demeanor and style of play. At the time Rickey was looking for someone to integrate baseball, with those kind of qualities, Robinson was the perfect person for the job. He knew that integrating the sport would not be easy but Robinson was up for the challenge and would be able to handle it with no violence. Integration in general had picked up during this time, WWII, people did not believe it was right that African Americans were allowed to die and fight beside that of a White American Soldier but yet weren’t allowed to play a sport with them.
”Robinson, however, finally broke his emotional and political silence in 1949, becoming an outspoken and controversial opponent of racial discrimination”. He criticized the slow pace of baseball integration and objected to the Jim Crow practices in the Southern states where most clubs held spring training. Robinson led other ballplayers in urging baseball to use its economic power to desegregate Southern towns, hotels, and ballparks. “Because most baseball
pril 15 marks the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in Major League Baseball. A student once asked me: "What is the color barrier? " Baseball's "color barrier" signifies the time in American history when black- and brown-skinned ballplayers were kept out of the Majors. In 1947, my father, Jackie Robinson, broke through that barrier and opened the door for others to follow.
Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 in Georgia. He is known for becoming the first black athlete in Major League Baseball, playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He dealt with a large amount of prejudice and racism throughout his lifetime. He died of heart problems alongside diabetes in 1972.
Jackie Robinson was an African American professional baseball player, who was one of the most influential people in both sports history and African American history. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. Despite countless encounters with racism and discrimination, Jackie Robinson continued to show the whole world his remarkable athletic ability. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He belonged to a family of sharecroppers.
In times of intense divide, the United States often finds a unifying symbol to bring the country together; during the 1950s and 1960s, this was baseball. At this point in American history, baseball was the national pastime. It dominated the world of sports and entertainment for Americans. One of the major reasons baseball was so popular was due to the proliferation of media outlets writing about, discussing, and analyzing the sport. During the Civil Rights Era, radio and newspapers had an important role with the iconic star, Jackie Robinson.
Jackie Robinson “When Jackie took the field in 1947, something unusual rose up in all of us. For he’d demonstrated something could he done. Jackie Robinson took courageous steps for all of us. In a world still turns by racial hatred, he symbolizes judging people on merit rather than physical characteristics. His legacy is in hope he offered to millions of black Americans and the enlightenment of others.”
He wound up being a second lieutenant. Jackie went to his court-martial for not moving to the back of the bus. He was on trial because a few officers were working a vengeance against a uppity black man. Several months later, Robinson received an honorable discharge from the army. In 1945, Jackie Robinson played shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League.
Jackie Robinson is known to be one of the most influential people in baseball and in society. He eternally changed the aspect of American history. It was unusual to have a colored person be treated equally as a white person during the time of the 1900s. He was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 and later moved to Pasadena, California to pursue a better life. He came from a poor family of sharecroppers in the South and was the youngest of five.
October 23, 1945, Jackie Robinson shook hands with Branch Rickey, officially changing baseball and society, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson grew up in a poor household in Pasadena, California. He attended UCLA, making himself a four sport star athlete . Major league baseball had been segregated at the time, with the only black men playing in separate Negro Leagues. Branch Rickey, the owner of the Dodgers, wanted to break the color barrier.
Jackie Robinson not only made impacts on the field that were monumental, but he made impacts off the field that were equally as important. Jackie helped presidents get elected, get kids off the streets and into the most prestigious schools there is, and most importantly he broke the black color barrier in baseball. Jackie Robinson is one of the most influential people to ever live, he did things that people would dream about, he stood up for what he believed. To begin, Jackie’s biggest accomplishment was breaking the black color barrier on baseball, “ Jackie Robinson broke through the color barrier that kept blacks out of the Major League Baseball [MLB].
In 1947, Manager Branch Rickey, of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed Jack Roosevelt Robinson to play baseball on the Dodgers’ minor league team. From there, Jackie Robinson played his way to becoming the starting first-baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers and helped lead the team to a division title. Robinson was the first negro ball-player to play on a Major League Ball Club, while this was an enormous accomplishment for all negro ball-players, it took its toll on Jackie. To Jackie, he was just a ball player.
At that moment Jackie told himself that he is prepared to serve his country with honor in the war(Robinson 12). After the war Robinson went to play in the Negro Leagues and was one of the best players in the league. Simultaneously the Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey was looking to have an experiment and bring black players into the MLB. This was a lofty goal but Rickey felt that if he found the right man for the job it would be a great league changing succes. One player that caught his eye was Jackie Robinson so he sent out a scout to watch him play.
He went to Pasadena College where he played 4 sports, football, baseball, track, and basketball. He was very talented in all of them, but he really saw something in baseball. Coming out out of college, Jackie was rejected by the Boston Red Sox, he then went off to serve in the military, Jackie was soon promoted to 2nd lieutenant, and after got platoon leader. On August 28, 1945 he met with Branch Rickey. Then on October 23, 1945 Jackie Robinson signed a contract to play with the Montreal Royals of the International League.