The sound of the ball cracking against a wood bat on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and the color of an individual’s skin not being a factor in how someone was treated in sports was what Jackie Robinson dreamed of. Jackie Robinson, A.K.A “the Dark Destroyer, the Colored Comet, Jack-Jack, Jackie the Robber, and J-Rob” (Robinson and Duckett) made many sacrifices to break the color barrier in the sport of baseball. Jackie Robinson overcame many challenges in his life, which makes his legacy even greater and more memorable. Jackie Robinson excelled in sports and academics even though he was in a tough position. Jackie Robinson grew up as the youngest of his five siblings. He was raised in poverty by a single mother because his father left him as …show more content…
Although Jackie Robinson was the minority, it didn’t stop him from being the best. According to (biography.com), at this time in history, baseball was segregated, so the whites and the black played in separate leagues. Jackie Robinson had true talent in baseball, and it caught the eye of Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch Rickey recruited him to help integrate the M.L.B. He first joined the Montreal Royals, which was a farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1946, he then flew to Florida for spring training with the Royals. Jackie Robinson’s big moment came on April 15, 1947, where he played his first game in Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This made him the first African-American to play in the M.L.B (Mini Bio: Jackie Robinson). As Branch Rickey expected when recruiting Jackie Robinson, he was going to have to have thick skin. Branch Rickey made Jackie Robinson promise to him that he would not fight back against racial comments. The comments made against Jackie Robinson were insane. He and his family received many threats, and even some of his own teammates rejected to play with him. Although Jackie Robinson was facing a lot of discrimination, he still had a .349 batting average which is exceptional (“Jackie Robinson Statistics and History) One of the most famous conflicts was between Jackie Robinson and the Philadelphia Phillies manager, Ben Chapman. He and his team would yell gruesome comments at Jackie Robinson all game, especially when he was up to bat. The Phillies even tried to throw the ball directly at his head to injure him. Opposing teams began to not want to play against the Dodgers because of Jackie Robinson. This made his teammates upset, and some even wanted to play for another team. Leo Durocher, the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, came out and told his team that if you don’t want to play with Jackie Robinson, then you will be traded off the team. A lot