A Brief Biography Of Jackie Robinson

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Fifty years ago, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson became the first black player to play in a Major League baseball game. The day he stepped onto Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947, he broke the color barrier and paved the way for other black athletes. Without Jackie Robinson there would not be Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, or Tiger Woods. Without Jackie Robinson, sports would be very different today. I know someone else may have come along and broken the color barrier, But that person could not have do it better than Jackie Robinson did. From day one, some hated the idea of playing with a black teammate. Jackie had to earn their respect with his bat and glove. Jackie Robinson was born on January 31,1919 in Cairo,Georgia as the youngest out of five children. He attended John Muir High School. Jackie continued his education at the University Of California where he became the university’s first student to win four varsity letters in all different sports. In 1941,he was forced to leave UCLA because of financial hardship. From 1942 to 1944 Jackie served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Jackie was discharged from the Army in 1944, he began to play baseball again. On April 15,1947 Jackie's life was going to change for forever because he was going to play in his first major league baseball game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson and his family received many threats because of this. Besides everything happening in Jackie's life he was playing great, he was leading the International League with a .349 batting average. Many players on other teams threatened not to play against the Dodgers and even his own teammates threatened to sit out. In Jackies first year he hit 12 home runs and helped the Dodgers win the Na... ... middle of paper ... ... He didn't let anything stop him from what his dreams were. Jackie Robinson became a civil rights leader by going out and talking because he was the first person to break the colored barrier. He went out there and talked for all the other people just like him that want to play sports and be treated how the whites were and not to be treated different. I’ve always wondering if Jackie Robinson wasn't the first one to the break the colored barrier who would it be? When would it have been done?Would have that person carried himself just as good as Jackie Robinson did. I today look up to Jackie because that took lots of courage and determination to be the first one because there was “no one like him out there”. We should all be thankful for the life we have today and don't have to go through stuff like that and be able play sports and have freedom of speech.

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