Back in the day, people of color had challenges when partaking in any sport. Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson is a prime example of a superior athlete who played baseball but had to fight for his respect on the field.
Jackie Robinson’s gateway into sports
For Robinson, “he grew up in Pasadena, California, raised by a single working mother of five.” “After graduating from Pasadena Junior College, Jackie attended the University of California, Los Angeles. A star athlete, Jackie became the university’s first four-sport letter winner, excelling in football, basketball, track and field, and baseball.”
After leaving the institution, Robinson served in the U.S. Army during World War II, “but was court marshalled and honorably discharged for standing up for his rights and refusing to move to the back of the segregated bus.” Robinson proceeded to join the Negro Leagues, and that is where his baseball career started.
Robinson’s career on the Dodgers
According to the Jackie Robinson Museum, he became the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. Robinson “was a key figure in advancing equal opportunity and first-class citizenship for all Americans during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.”
In the spring of 1947, Robinson stepped onto Ebbets Field for his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers. This was the beginning of a remarkable career in baseball. According to the Jackie Robinson Museum, his record included a .311 batting average, 137 home runs, 734 runs batted in, and 197 stolen bases. “In 1955, he helped the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win their first World Series Championship. Robinson got the Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, the Most Valuable Player Award in 1949, and in 1962 became the first African American inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.”
Jackie Robinson’s Life After Baseball
Back to Jackie Robinson joining the Civil Rights Movement, he decided to take a stand after playing baseball in the late 1950s. “Robinson was hired to serve as the Vice President for Personnel at Chock Full o’ Nuts, the first African American to be named a Vice President of a major American company. He used his position at Chock Full o’ Nuts to improve working conditions for employees.” He was also a featured speaker at the infamous March on Washington in 1963.
“In 1964, Robinson co-founded Freedom National Bank of Harlem, a Black owned bank created for the express purpose of financially aiding African American communities. In 1970, The Jackie Robinson Construction Company was founded, providing housing for low-income people.”
About The Author
Samuel has always loved sports. He has written for the Wingate Triangle at Wingate University. Rodriguez got a BS in Communications with a Sports Media Emphasis. He is also pursuing a Cybersecurity Operations Certificate at Fayetteville Technical Community College.
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