Jackie Robinson (1919-72) Essay Example

the first black player to participate in an All-Star game for the National League. Later on October 6, 1949, during game two of their World Series against the New York Yankees, he scored a crucial run leading to a narrow victory of 1-0. This win became one of their most memorable moments throughout that series.

With an impressive batting average of .342 in that same year (1949), Robinson received recognition as the league's most valuable player due to his exceptional skills in base running and his accumulation of a total of197 stolen bases. Throughout Robinson's ten-year playing career with them (Dodgers), they were able to achieve six National League pennants.On December 13, 1956, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded Jackie Robinson to their rival team, the New York Giants. This trade was made in an attempt to increase low attendance numbers and involved swapping him for pitcher Dick Littlefield, as well as $35,000 cash. At that time, Robinson was considering quitting baseball due to leg problems. However, less than a month later in 1956, he retired from baseball with a lifetime batting average of .311.

The Baseball Writers Association of America elected Jackie Robinson to the Hall of Fame on January 23, 1962. This historic moment marked him as the first African-American player to receive this honor. After retiring from baseball, he took on various roles such as becoming a vice-president of a New York restaurant firm and serving as president of a land-development company.

From 1964 to 1968, he served as a special assistant for civil rights to Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York and also worked with drug-prevention programs. In addition to his accomplishments on the field and

off it after retirement, Robinson starred in the motion picture "The Jackie Robinson Story" in 1950 and co-authored "I Never Had It Made" in 1972 with Alfred Duckett.

Sadly, at the age of 53 on October 24th, 1972 , Jackie Robinson passed away from a heart attack in Stamford Connecticut. Just ten days prior to his passing, he had thrown out the first pitch at game two of the World Series that year.