Jackie Robinson Essays
Jackie Robinson is a name that will live on in infamy. He was the first African-American to break Major League Baseball’s (MLB) color barrier when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, and his courage and determination changed baseball forever.Robinson was born into poverty in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31st 1919. His family moved to Pasadena, California soon after and Jackie attended John Muir High School where he excelled at basketball, football, track and even tennis. He went on to attend UCLA becoming the university’s first student of color ever to receive an athletic scholarship. At UCLA, Robinson became one of the school’s most successful athletes: winning varsity letters in four sports “football, basketball, baseball and track”and setting records that still stand today. After college however jobs were hard to come by because of segregation so Robinson joined the U.S Army in 1942 where he served with distinction until 1944 when he left active duty as a 2nd Lieutenant but remained part of the Reserve Corps until his honorable discharge following World War II. In 1945 Robinson signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before being called up by Branch Rickey who wanted him to play for Dodgers’ Triple A team -the Montreal Royals-wherein 1947 he led them to become International League champions which marked a major turning point not just for Robinson but also for baseball itself as it began its own integration process that would later see players such as Willie Mays enter MLB ranks too . During his 10 year career with Dodgers from ’47-’56 ,Robinson won Rookie of The Year Award in ‘47 ,was selected as All Star 6 times between 1949-54 ,helped bring home six pennants for Brooklyn plus one World Series title in 1955 all while batting .311 lifetime average over 1125 games played during this period making him one of best players at this time .His impact wasn’t limited only within playing field either; off it he used opportunity presented him speak out social injustices facing many African Americans during those tough days using platform provided via sports media attention given towards him allowing others people aware current state racism America had yet face or accept leading civil rights movement we now enjoy today . Robinson retired from MLB age 37 due ill health 1958 having revolutionised game through example shown both on field off despite abuse received along way ;he then devoted himself activism promotion racial equality serving advisor NAACP amongst other roles advancing cause change helped establish throughout country.
The only basis for Heman Sweatt’s 1946 application rejection from the University of Texas Law School was his race. Sweatt initiated a lawsuit in state court to compel graduate school officials to admit him. Texas lacked a separate graduate school for African Americans at the time. The trial court acknowledged that denying Sweatt equal educational […]
The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York is hallowed ground for baseball fans worldwide. In the halls of this institution the names of the greatest players to ever play the game are enshrined and honored for people from around the world to come and marvel at. With well over a century of professional […]
Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, Toni Stone, and Connie Morgan were three ladies who played baseball. They had to overcome segregation, prejudices, and many other issues just to be able to play baseball. The male players allowed them to home base but not without throwing in a cheap shot such as trying to kick them in their […]
Time and again, Negro League players shared how restaurants refused to serve them and hotels refused to rent them rooms, even when they were the sole Black members of their high school and college sports teams. African-American athletes had to make do with the fare offered by the hot dog stands at the fields where […]
Reggie Jackson was one of the best baseball players ever. He appeared in 27 World Series games. While the batting average in the MLB playoffs is .274. Reggie Jackson batted with an average of .357. He had 10 home runs. He even won 3 straight World Series with the Kansas City Athletics, and back-to-back World […]
The practice of slavery was owning a person or group of people and force them to do manual labor. This practice in America started in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. The first 19 slaves were seized and brought over on Spanish Slave ships by the Dutch. Slaves were physically abused during these times because the government […]
There have been many professional players that have decided to take a stand against their athletic organizations in some shape or form. These players use their sport as a platform to express their personal beliefs to the public. History of this kind of protest first arose in the boxing ring, by a boxer that went […]
