Jackie Robinson Essay

Jackie Robinson Essays
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson and integration are two phrases that cannot be segregated. Whether he liked it or
not, he played the star role in the integration of society during the time that he played Major
League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His heroic journey that landed him in the Majors
shows, &#8220;how integration has come to baseball and how it can be achieved in every
corner of the land'; (Robinson 16). But this amazing triumph over the Jim Crow laws could only have
been possible in New York as Robinson says, &#8220;Cooperstown, New York, and
Birmingham, Alabama, are both in the Unites States. In Cooperstown I had been the guest of honor
in the company of three other new Hall of...show more content...
The Dodgers got their name from the electric streetcars in Brooklyn that were so dangerous that
people had to be skilled &#8220;dodgers'; of them in order not to get run over. Why was
Brooklyn the place that integration could occur? After World War Two, Brooklyn had transformed
from a white–middle class population to a mix of blacks, Latinos and Jews. &#8220;About
half of Brooklyn&#8217;s population was Jewish; among the Dodger faithful, Jews were
probably far more ready than any other major group, such as the Irish or the Italians, to identify with
the fight against the Jim Crow embodied by Robinson'; (Rampersad 220–221). Obviously, the Jews
related to the blacks&#8217; plight against society&#8217;s belittlement of them and the
similar discriminations they both faced. Many of the Robinson&#8217;s friends were Jewish,
perhaps because &#8220;the Robinsons found Jews far more ready than other whites to accept
them socially'; (Rampersad 221). Jackie Robinson was able to live successfully in Brooklyn, and not
only because he was a great athletic superstar but because he had many friends and supporters that
didn&#8217;t consider him an outsider. They let him live amongst them, supported him, and
befriended him and his family. Rachel Robinson (Jackie&#8217;s wife) sums it up by saying
that, &#8220;We didn&#8217;t think of them as Jewish, unless we were dealing with a
specific organization. They were simply
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Essay on Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919. He was born in Cairo, Georgia and was the
youngest of five children. He had a grandfather that was a slave, Jackie's dad was a sharecropper and
Mallie, Jackie's mother, was a maid. His dad ran away from the family when Jackie was only an
infant.
Jackie fought racism in his California childhood, at collage and throughout his whole life. During
his childhood at California he was always picked on at school. Kids taunted him so much and so
badly that he developed a hot temper.
When Jackie was growing up, whenever he would sense or be involved in legal injustice he would
get really mad and there would be nothing he could of done about it.
At the University of California in Los Angeles,...show more content...
There is nothing worse than being dishonorably discharged in the 1940's. Back then if you were
dishonorably discharged from the army, everyone knew you for it, it would be your entire
reputation. Everyone would know you and tease you for what you did wrong to become
dishonorably discharged from the Army.
It's a good thing that Jackie Robinson wasn't dishonorably discharged, but he was acquitted instead.
He wouldn't have been playing in the MLB if he was dishonorably discharged because Branch
Rickey would of picked someone else for his first black player. But it 1947, Jackie Robinson became
the first black player to play in the MLB for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson was the first
black to play professional baseball in the MLB because Branch Rickey wanted to recruit black
players onto his team. Rickey never clearly explained the motivations for this dramatic turnaround.
"I couldn't face my God much knowing that His black creatures are held separate and distinct from
his white creatures in the game that has given me all I own." Branch Rickey said.
Jackie Robinson was a huge step to integration because he ended segregation for baseball. He was
voted the National League's MVP in 1949 when he hit a league–leading .342 and drove in 124 runs.
But it wasn't a party being the first black to play Major League Baseball when he first started
because white America did not react so well to the integration in Major League

Essay about Jackie Robinson
The Great One
&#8220; He struck a mighty blow for equality, freedom and the American way of life. Jackie
Robinson was a good citizen, a great man, and the true American champion.'; Ronald Reagon. I
don&#8217;t know if anyone could have summarized his life better. Jackie was a great influence
to the American public. To over came diversity and succeed is a great accomplishment.
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, January 31 1919. He went to college at
the University of UCLA. Where he was a star in four sports basketball, baseball, football, and track.
He is the only bruin to letter in four sports. After college he went to pursue a career in the Army. He
...show more content...
He won rookie of the year, and was only the begging for the awards he would receive. He later
receive MVP, and elected into the Hall Of Fame.
He brought many kinds of fans to the game if baseball. His style of playing brought excitement
back to the game. As much of the world like to watch him there were some who hated him. He
received much hate mail from all kinds of people. He received letters threaten to kill him if he was
to step on their hometown field with the other white players. A fellowbaseball player from the
opposing team slid into him putting a big gash in his knee that would take him out of the game.
He was not the first black player in the major league baseball; neither was he the first black star
athlete. Words cannot describe what he brought to the game of baseball and the rest of America. His
success in baseball proved that blacks and white can coexist, and corporate well together. His
importance to the public was more then just playing baseball.
Robinson&#8217;s importance continues after his baseball career. After he retired in 1956, he
became active in the NAACP and the civil rights movement. He put forth his baseball career and
decade his life to improving African Americans status in society. Many black people looked for to
him for help and support. He didn&#8217;t care what people thought

Jackie Robinson Essay
Baseball has always been America's national pastime. In the early and all the way into the mid
50's, baseball was America and America was baseball. The only thing lacking in the great game
was the absence of African American players and the presence of an all white sport. America still
wasn't friendly or accepted the African American race and many still held great prejudice towards
them. All this would change when the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey
decided he was going to sign a Negro player. Jackie Robinson was that player and Jackie Robinson
changed the game, America, and history. By looking specifically at his childhood adversity,college
life and the hardships he encountered by becoming the first black player...show more content...
Here Jackie would begin making history and rewriting record books. UCLA still was hard for
Jackie as they didn't allow blacks to live in Westwood, attend socials, work on campus, and they
had no black professors (Daniels 97). Jackie slowly made his way into the hearts of UCLA by
becoming the first athlete to letter in four sports: baseball, football, track, and basketball (Tygiel 55).
Jackie graduated from UCLA after becoming one of the greatest athletes to ever step foot on their
campus.
After college, Jackie experimented with different jobs but he just didn't like anyone. He had
offers to play football and Negro league baseball but felt like he had no future in professional
sports. After one the darkest days in American history, Pearl Harbor, Jackie was drafted into the
war. Jackie had mixed emotions with the war because he was willing to do his part but didn't like
how blacks were being treated in the military. Jackie left for the military and from day one was
called a n***** and other racial terms which left Jackie feeling down and out. "I never
understood why they wouldn't accept me, there was a good chance that we were going to die
together, so we might as well be friends" (Chadwick 367). Jackie quickly began to gain a little
respect when he was named an expert marksman, but not enough for them to let him play baseball
with the whites. Jackie would spend three years in the military, which to this day, hasn't talked a lot
about and held anger and hostility towards

Throughout his professional career, Jackie Robinson, received criticism for being the first "black"
player to play the game. Not only did Jackie Robinson manage to live up to the criticism, he also
changed the face of America's greatest past time forever. With his entrance into the MLB he opened
the path for great black players like Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Ozzie Smith
just to name a few. In crossing the color–barrier in baseball Robinson not only strived as a great
player on the field, but also a inspiration to the black community of the field with his humility, and
willingness to move forward in a time where blacks were not considered "equal".
Jackie Robinson was one of the most profound individuals to ever walk...show more content...
In the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Mack won the silver metal in the 200m–hurdle (13).
Learning to deal with criticism early was a major contribution to his success in life. He and his
friends would be called racial names while just trying to play baseball at the local park (Kahn 10).
Not long after the family moved to Pasadena, California Robinson's mother enrolled him into
Pasadena Junior College. At Pasadena Junior College Robinson set a National Junior College
record in the long jump of 25' 6 ВЅ" (Ringer 22). After only one year at Pasadena Junior College
Robinson received an athletic scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles (23). There,
Robinson became the first Bruin athlete to earn varsity letters in four sports (25). Robinson was a
standout in football, baseball, basketball and track (26). After three years of college Robinson left
college to work to support his mother (29). He was one of four African American players on the
1939 UCLA Bruins football team. This was not normal to have so many African Americans when
only a few dozen at all played on college football teams. Later, Robinson went on to play semi–pro
football in Honolulu. Several months later, Pearl Harbor was bombed, and he enlisted in the U.S.
Army (31). In the Army Robinson completed Officer Candidate School and became a Second
Lieutenant (34). In 1944 Robinson faced a court–martial for refusing to move to the rear of an Army
bus (42).

Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, the grandson of a slave. Jackie
was the youngest of five children. When he was six months old, his father deserted the family. His
mother moved them to California where it was easier for blacks to live and get work. In those days,
life was very hard for black people in the South. This upset young Jackie. He became very
involved in sports. He played football, basketball, baseball and ran track. In college he was a top
football player. He left college before graduating.
Jackie worked for the National Youth Administration at a work camp but the camp was closed. In
the fall of 1941, he joined the Honolulu Bears professional football team and then was drafted into
the Army....show more content...
During spring training in Florida, Robinson had to ride in the back of the bus and some games
were even canceled because he was playing. Even so, he was a great player and when Rickey
wanted to move him up to the Dodgers, even though a petition was passed around the players trying
to ban him from playing, hardly anyone signed it. Things didn't get any easier though. The St. Louis
Cardinals threatened to go on strike. Pitchers often threw the ball directly at Robinson, base
runners tried to spike him, and people called him all sorts of bad names. He even received hate
mail, death threats, and warnings that his baby boy would be kidnapped. But, gradually, the fans
and players realized how good he was at baseball. They started coming just to see him play.
Jackie had agreed to hold his temper back that first year of play but after that, he became angry
when people made remarks about being an African American often getting in fights with officials
or other players. He became very active in civil rights causes and helped many black players in the
league. Jackie continued to play baseball until 1957. At that point, his health was declining and
diabetes took away his sight in one eye and reduced his sight in the remaining eye.
After his retirement Robinson became a successful businessman and active supporter of political
causes, devoting many of his efforts to the pursuit of a better life for African Americans.
Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in

jackie robinson Essay
The grandson of a slave, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo,
Georgia; he was the youngest of five children. Jackie grew up very poor, but little did he know that
his athletic ability would open the doors for his future. After his father deserted the family when
Jackie was six months old, his mother, Mallie Robinson, moved the family to California in search of
work. California also subjected blacks to segregation at that time, but to less of a degree than in the
Deep South. The young Jackie defused his anger over this prejudice by immersing himself in sports.
He displayed extraordinary athletic skills in high school, excelling at football, basketball, baseball,
and track. After helping Pasadena Junior College...show more content...
Louis Cardinal organization, Rickey made the move to Brooklyn. He felt that a more diverse
culture would be a little more receptive to his plans. Ricky initiated his efforts by developing a plan
to start up a new African American League made up of six franchises with one being the Brooklyn
Brown Dodgers. The real truth was that it offered him a front to evaluate potential black talent to be
integrated into the Major League.
In the beginning, it was actually Boston, not Brooklyn that showed interest in Robinson and the
two other players; Sam Jethroe and Marvin Williams. Political pressure from Boston City
Councilor Isador H.Y. Muchnick prompted the tryout. He threatened to take away the Red Sox
permit to hold games in Fenway Park on Sundays if efforts were not made to integrate the ball club.
Plans were put together by Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Wendell Smith. The tryouts led to a dead
end, and none of the three players were signed. Ironically, Boston in 1959 would be the last team in
the majors to integrate their ballclub.
However, on October 23, 1945, Robinson signed a contract with Rickey to play for the Montreal
Royals; a Dodgers farm team in the International League. Prior to the signing, Ricky went through
extreme detail with Robinson on what it would take to be successful in the majors. He tormented
and ridiculed him with potential situations that he could encounter. Robinson was able to maintain
his demeanor. Jackie made a commitment to Ricky that for the

Jackie Robinson Essay

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Jackie Robinson Essay