The Break Through in American Baseball :: essays research papers

The Break Through in American Baseball   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Baseball, what is baseball? Baseball is a game about runs, hits and errors; 73 homers by Barry Bonds and seven no hitters by Nolan Ryan, a .367 lifetime mark by Ty Cobb and 511 wins by Cy Young. It’s all about the 15,000 people who have had the privilege to make it in the league and more, from homerun hitting Babe Ruth to the lately retired Cal Ripken Jr., but there is more to baseball then records and fame; the thing, the man, goes by the name of Jackie Robinson.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jackie Robinson. The name alone is inspiring and pure. Jack Roosevelt Robinson (Jackie) was born on 1919, in Cairo Georgia and quickly found out that life wasn’t going to be easy. When Jackie was one-year-old his father, Jerry, packed up and left his whole family, after his deserting; Jackie’s mother, Mallie, then rounded up her five children and moved to Pasadena, California, where she found work as a maid.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not long after moving to Pasadena Jackie soon enrolled at George Washington High School at the age of 17. Not only did he play four sports in high school but he also won the city’s Ping-Pong championship. While Jackie was still young and in high school his brother was way over in Berlin, Germany competing in the Summer Olympics. Mack got second in the 200-meter dash, finishing behind the all-time great Jesse Owens.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After graduating high school Jackie then attended UCLA in 1941 and was the first athlete in UCLA history to ever letter in four sports (baseball, football, basketball, and track) in a single year. Not only did he make history there, but he met the love of his life, Rachel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After one year of college, Jackie entered the army for World War II. He was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, and while he was there he was denied entrance into the Officers’ Candidate School because of his skin color. Being the man he is, he protested and protested and stood up for what he believed in and in 1945 was discharged as a lieutenant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After being discharged, Jackie met Branch Rickey on August 28, 1945 and Rickey offered Jackie a contract with one of the Dodgers farm clubs, the Montreal Royals of the International League. Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in the International League, and as you can guess had to overcome a lot of adversity.