Jackie Robinson was a man of many talents. He grew up in time of segregation, yet somehow managed to power through the abuse of society and become successful. He was a kind man, with incredible patience on and off the baseball field. As well as competing in a wide variety of sports in high school, Robinson would go on to accomplish his dream of playing professional baseball. He would also go on to be the first African-American athlete to compete in an all white league. Jackie would later be inducted into the baseball hall of fame, while also receiving countless awards for how he played the game.
Jackie Robinson did not have an easy childhood. He never knew his father because he left when Jackie was just 6 months old. When they were forced
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Under the management of owner Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers was the first major league team to have a black person play for them(“Jackie Robinson.” Almanac of Famous People). Rickey had been searching for about two years trying to find the one player that would change the game. When he saw Jackie, Branch knew he would be able to produce the results he was looking for. Robinson was a very hard working athlete and was naturally blessed with athleticism. His first year in the MLB was by far the hardest of his career. Rickey asked that Robinson holds his tongue for the first year in the league. Although Robinson agreed, he was not happy about what would come. He faced many racial slurs, uncommon punishment, and even death threats. Throughout all of this, he maintained his composure and that is one of the main reasons he was so respected by the end of his career. His success during his career opened the gateway to numerous other African American athletes. He inspired and allowed them to chase their dreams of playing in a professional …show more content…
He served from 1942-1944 and was honorably discharged for insubordination when he refused to move to the back of a segregated bus. After he left the military, Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro league. Then in 1947, Branch Rickey, the owner of the Dodgers, recruited Robinson to play for him determined to put an end to the unwritten rules of segregation in the major league(“John Roosevelt Robinson.” Dictionary Of American Biography). Jackie started off playing for the Dodgers minor league team, the Montreal Royals. After leading the league in batting, Rickey knew Robinson was ready for the majors. In his first year playing for the Dodgers, Jackie stole more bases than anyone else in the league and won the first ever rookie of the year award. In 1955 he would go on to help the Dodgers defeat the Yankees in the World Series, and at the end of his career would finish with a .311 batting average, and 137 home runs to his