American Sports Integration: Not for Equality "Many of those who shared the belief in African American biological doom, 'wanted some modification of racial separation to guarantee a greater degree of white control.' Integration of the major leagues effected just this result. It pulled black athletes back into the mainstream…in a way that kept them on the periphery of real power, safely within sight." (Rhoden 122). Integration of African Americans into American sports is widely remembered as an incredible stride made for the black community and equality as a whole. Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in the modern era to play in the MLB, is known globally as an African American hero who broke the color barrier of baseball. Major …show more content…
Black athletes had an opportunity to play top-tier competition, but the goal of integration was to further empower whites by using black athleticism for their own gain, demolishing the Negro Leagues, and excluding African Americans from high positions of coaching or management. White owners and coaches of both professional and collegiate sports teams didn't agree to integration of African Americans in order to push for equality in 20th century America. The real reason is they had to for the benefit of themselves and their team. In all sports, shortly before integration, black athleticism became more and more prominent. It was clear that some of the best players in the country were black and were being excluded from the white teams, when they were clearly skilled enough to play. But, no white person at the time wanted to work with a black man, much less empower him by allowing him to perform on the …show more content…
This oppression of the black community is the exact opposite of the reason the Negro League was formed. Rube Foster, a baseball player and fanatic, had a dream to unite the black community, not just athletes, around an all-black professional baseball league that would shed light on blacks' impressive skills. The eventual goal was for the Negro League to combine with the MLB and create a racially diverse and equal professional baseball league in America. (Rhoden 101-102). Foster didn't exactly achieve his aspirations. His Negro League was a success, and many truly appreciate what Foster did for the black community. The MLB even inducted him into the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Rhoden 121). He even succeeded in the integration of black players into the MLB. But, Foster never achieved his true goal of bringing black power and authority into the MLB. All of the hopes he had had about integration were crushed as soon as integration occurred. After blacks were desegregated from the league, MLB teams started signing all of the best black players to their squads. They picked the Negro League dry and gave the league nothing in return. No teams were purchased, and no coaches or managers transferred to the MLB as well. (Rhoden 119). Everyone quickly forgot about the Negro League and all of the work Foster put in to make it and the black community a success. When
“In 1946, there were sixteen Major League Baseball teams, with a total of 400 players on their rosters, every one of the players was white. But when opening day came in 1947, that number dropped to 399, and one man stood apart. (42 2:30)” Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Making Jackie Robinson the first African-American to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Jackie’s transition from the Negro Leagues to MLB was not an easy one. As a player, he transitioned very well, but it was Robinson’s teammates, Dodgers fans, the opposing teams and their fans that tested Jackie every chance they got, some hotels even prohibited the Dodgers to stay in their establishments
Goff, Brian L, Robert E. McCormick and, Robert D. Tollison. “Racial Integration as an Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Sports Leagues.” The American Economic Review 92.1 (2002): 16-26. JSTOR. Web. 12 Jan. 2014
Jackie Robinson decided to fight to be the first African American to integrate the Major League Baseball (MLB). His autobiography states he “was forced to live with snubs rebuffs and rejections” ( Robinson). This quote shows that he was treated unfairly and disrespectfully. In Robinson’s autobiography it also states that Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier and created equal oppurtunity proving that a “sport can’t be called national if blacks are barred from it”
...eaven for many blacks as their performances proved they are no different from their white counterparts. Not only did they rally white troops from their athletic performances, they were able to do so from their voices and personal life. They began to voice their displeasure through various media outlets. Their public outcry to end social injustice and race based discrimination came started to become a popular topic of discussion all over the country. They took a stand and were rewarded for their actions as race based discrimination is abolished and blacks have the same status as whites. Black athletes are becoming more and more recognizable all over the world as some become the faces of their sports. Sports came as a form of entertainment for many, but for black athletes it ended up being the most treasured source to reconstructing their race’s lives in America.
Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to play on the professional level, he was fearless, courageous, willful and strong. He was an advocate for civil rights, as well as a great baseball player. He had to try to keep quiet, and keep to himself while playing, but became a stronger and more extreme advocate over time. A leader on and off the fields dealing with much more than just baseball, he also had to deal with the criticism and racial tensions of a prominently white game. Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was a showman who knew how to make money and fame in baseball “he had made a fortune for the cardinals as well as himself, and black talent could argument his bottom line by transforming his struggling dodgers into a power house” (Zeiler, 17). He wanted to make his team great by any means possible. He put his eyes on Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson changed the game and the world, and will always be a huge figure in baseball and civil rights.
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
"Over the decades, African American teams played 445-recorded games against white teams, winning sixty-one percent of them." (Conrads, pg.8) The Negro Leagues were an alternative baseball group for African American baseball player that were denied the right to play with the white baseball payers in the Major League Baseball Association. In 1920, the first African American League was formed, and that paved the way for numerous African American innovation and movements. Fences, and Jackie Robinson: The Biography, raises consciousness about the baseball players that have been overlooked, and the struggle they had to endure simply because of their color.
This article proposes the idea of what would happen if Black people really embraced the sports world and made that their priority instead of education, “He provides the example of percentages of Black males competing in the NBA (77%), NFL (65%), MLB (15%), and MLS (16%) in comparison to the fact that fewer than 2% of doctors, lawyers, architects, college professors, or business executives are Black males,”. Dr. Robinson brings up the sta…..
77% of NBA basketball players are African-American, approximately 343 players, compared to the 0% or none we had in the earlier 1950’s, in just 60 years we went up 77%. (Travis Waldron 63 Years Ago Today
Breaking the Racial Barrier in Baseball Although Jackie Robinson was not the best African-American baseball player of his time, his attitude and ability to handle racist harassment led the way for the rest of his race to play Major League Baseball, amongst other sports. Being accepted into professional sports also helped African-Americans become more easily accepted into other aspects of life. Jackie's impact in the world for the black population is enormous. According to Jessie Jackson, "A champion wins a World Series or an Olympic event and is hoisted on the shoulders of the fans.
Historical and sociological research has shown, through much evidence collection and analysis of primary documents that the American sporting industry can give an accurate reflection, to a certain extent, of racial struggles and discrimination into the larger context of American society. To understand this stance, a deep look into aspects of sport beyond simply playing the game must be a primary focus. Since the integration of baseball, followed shortly after by American football, why are the numbers of African American owners, coaches and managers so very low? What accounts for the absence of African American candidates from seeking front office and managerial roles? Is a conscious decision made by established members of each organization or is this matter a deeper reflection on society? Why does a certain image and persona exist amongst many African American athletes? Sports historians often take a look at sports and make a comparison to society. Beginning in the early 1980’s, historians began looking at the integration of baseball and how it preceded the civil rights movement. The common conclusion was that integration in baseball and other sports was indeed a reflection on American society. As African Americans began to play in sports, a short time later, Jim Crow laws and segregation formally came to an end in the south. Does racism and discrimination end with the elimination of Jim Crow and the onset of the civil rights movement and other instances of race awareness and equality? According to many modern sports historians and sociologists, they do not. This paper will focus on the writings of selected historians and sociologists who examine th...
Miller, Patrick B. Wiggins, David K. Sport and the color line: Black athletes and Race relations in Twentieth-century America. 2004. The Journal of Southern History 70 (4) (Nov 2004): 990.
For instance, ?The American Dream of unlimited possibilities was shattered for black athletes. By 1900 most of them had successfully been excluded from American sport and were forced to establish their own separate sporting organizations. The most famous of these were the black baseball leagues, a loose aggregate of teams that did not achieve much organizational structure until Rube Foster founded the National Negro Baseball League in 1920. Late nineteenth-century black athletes were often disturbed by their inability to be classified by an...
The scholars expounds that Black athletes were commodities on the playing field to help win games and bring in revenue to their respected schools. However, the schools were just as eager and willing to leave their Black players behind and dishonoring the player as a part of the team. Therefore, not compromising the team’s winning and bring in profits for the school. Sadly, Black athletes at predominately White institutions (PWIs) who believed that they were bettering the live of themselves and their families members by going to college and playing collegiate sports to increase their post secondary careers. However, these athletes were only “show ponies” for their schools. Unfortunately, Black athletes had allegiance to their school; however, the school turned their backs on the athletes to protect the profit and notoriety of the school and the programs. Money and respect from White fans and spectators were more important to the PWIs than standing up for the respect of their Black players. Racial bigotry in sports was rampant and it was only going to get worse.
White college men perceived athletics as a way to show their superiority and justify their presence in business as well as politics. They believed athletic sports were essential in their "vision of white manhood" (Grundy, 29).... ... middle of paper ... ...which encouraged participants to develop both verbal eloquence and cool self-control" (Grundy, 169). In addition, because African Americans face greater restrictions and job competition compared to Whites, scholarships were very much valued and high school coaches worked to help African American athletes gain these scholarships.