Jackie Robinson Biography Essay

Jackie Robinson was born on January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia to Mallie Robinson and Jerry Robinson. Raised in relative poverty with a single mother and four other siblings, Mack, Willa Mae, Edgar and Frank Robinson, Jackie didn’t have the easiest life growing up. His family was the only African American family on their street and he grew up in a family of sharecroppers. He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College where he was an excellent student and athlete. He continued his education at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) where he was the first student ever to receive 4 varsity letters in athletics; track, baseball, basketball and football. Although Jackie was an outstanding student and athlete, he dropped out

He was given the opportunity to break racial barriers when the general manager of Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, asked Jackie to play for him. In 1946, he was invited to join the Montreal Royals, an all-white farm team. The next year, he moved to Florida to begin training with the Royals. On April 15th, 1947, he played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Ebbets Field. Until then, baseball was segregated, blacks and whites played in single leagues. Robinson accepted and acknowledged that there was going to be a long line of abuse about his background. Although he was threatened by many people, he never let that bring him down and instead, he let his talent speak for him. Jackie was titled Rookie of the Year in 1947, National League MVP (most valuable player) in 1949 and World Series champ in 1955. The bravery and elegance of how Robinson handled the racial abuse inspired many African Americans and paved the path for the civil rights

Other teams threatened to not play against Jackie’s team and his family continuously received threats. People in the crowds regularly jeered at Robinson. He put all the racial comments aside and proved himself through baseball. Jackie had an astonishing start with the Royals. He led the International League with a .349 batting average and a .985 fielding percentage. Jackie got a promotion with the Dodgers after his successful year. Although Robinson was continually receiving racial abuse, he prospered by putting the prejudgment and ethnic conflicts aside and showed everyone what a talented player he was. He constantly impressed admirers and critics with inspiring accomplishments such as his remarkable batting average and awards. Jackie Robinson became a voice for African-American athletes, human rights and other political or social causes. After Robinson retired from baseball in 1957, he continued to increase African-American employment opportunities. Jackie Robinson changed baseball and sports in general. He showed people all over the world that no matter where you were born or where you are from, anything is possible. “When Jackie took the field, something reminded us of our birthright to be free,” Jesse Jackson (american civil rights activist) once said. Jackie Robinson influenced positive changes and