How Did Jackie Robinson Influence The World

Keegan Roth

Mrs. Norwine

Honors Language Arts 8

10 May 2023

Jackie Robinson’s Influence on the World and Baseball

Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player in Major League Baseball history, though he was a star athlete and one of the greats of a generation, he was more than just an athlete. Jackie was a pioneer for the African American community and a beacon of hope for all aspiring black athletes. His influence on baseball and the world is still resonating today, 76, years later. Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on the 31st of January, 1919 (Herman and O’Brien pg 5). He was born to two sharecropper parents, Mallie and Jerry Robinson. Jack was the youngest of five children, with three brothers and one sister.

Rickey and his scouts had been scouting the Negro Leagues nonstop for potential candidates to break the color barrier and help the Dodgers win the World Series. Jackie possessed not only the talent to play in the major leagues, but also the right temper to play in a very hostile environment. Moreover, Jackie had been playing against white competition his whole sports career, from high school to college, and even in the military. He was very educated, well-respected amongst his peers, humble, and comfortable in front of large crowds (Swaine). Jackie wasn’t even close to the best black baseball player at the time, but Branch concluded that he was the right man for the job. Robinson was then signed to the Kansas City Monarchs to play in the Negro Leagues, one of the leagues’ most successful franchises. After his season in the Negro Leagues, it was announced that Jackie would be signed to the Montreal Royals, a top minor-league team of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He agreed to sign months previous to the signing, Rickey made Jackie promise that he would stay calm under the racism that he would be guaranteed to clash with, in exchange for the opportunity to break the color barrier. Jackie’s signing was only fitting because during the time, the integration movement of black

He would also prove that he deserved a shot during the Dodgers organization's Spring Training in Havana, Cuba. Branch Rickey specifically chose Havana as the location to avoid any racism in the Dodgers’ usual Spring Training location in the south. (Swaine) Despite the location, Jack still had to weather the storm of a combination of death threats and racism, even mini rebellions from southern teammates. Branch Rickey took advantage of all of the distractions in the media about Jackie to sneakily slide him over to the Dodgers’ roster. Jackie was going to get the shot he earned. Jackie’s first season in the Major League in 1947 went swimmingly, he stood by the pact that he made with Rickey to keep a level head despite the unrelenting amounts of racism he got dealt from other teams and fans. He finished the season being one of the best players on the Dodgers, the National League pennant, and accomplishing the unheard-of goal of breaking the Major League color barrier. The Dodgers would fall just short of a World Series win, losing to the tough Yankees in a game seven defeat. Jackie wasn’t just one of the best players on the team, he was the sole reason for the record-breaking attendance records at the stadiums in which he played. He was exciting, he was unlike a player people had never seen before. Jackie made something that many thought was highly unlikely and