“Because of him, by the 1970’s half of all major league players were black” (Graf 2). Jackie Robinson was to be considered a hero to many, he’s overcome discrimination just to do what his heart desired –baseball. If it weren’t for Robinsons experiences, then who knows if anyone would have been able to work through discrimination, the color barrier of the Major Leagues and eventually integrate baseball like he did. After the civil rights movements there was still a color barrier on many things including baseball. The Major Leagues were still undoubtedly racially prejudice. “There was an unwritten rule established at the end of the 1884 baseball season: The Major and Minor Leagues were for white players only” (Graf 2). The Majors truly mistreated African Americans for unknown reasons. Therefore, the Negro Leagues were established in 1920. “Black players were …show more content…
When Robinson played for the Montreal Royals in 1946, not many would support him. “The fans in Montreal loved Robinson, but he experienced what he described as “mass hatred” in other cities” (Graf 2). No matter how hard it was and how many people disagreed with him, he knew what he was doing was right. At the same time the fans were getting to be very violent and mean. “In Baltimore, white fans rioted and trapped Robinson in the clubhouse for hours” (Graf 2). Fans didn’t like what Robinson was doing, but even through their terrible actions, Robinson would not give up. In fact, even other MLB players were treating him unfairly even though he was no different from them. “Some pitchers intentionally hit him with pitches, and opposing players regularly shouted insults at him” (Graf 2). Some people will do anything to try to get at someone if it will make them right or feel better about themselves. Discrimination is what Jackie eventually overcame, and that led up to him later in integrating