The stands were packed with fans on a beautiful afternoon for baseball. There was the smell of popcorn and hotdogs in the air. The fans were cheering on their team and hoping for a win. Brooklyn was in love with their Dodgers and wanted a World Series Championship more than anything. There was one player on the field that definitely stood out and was different than the rest. Number 42 for the Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, was noticed not only for his amazing skills but for the color of his skin. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American player in Major League Baseball (MLB). He fought against racism and broke the “color barrier” in baseball. This lead to many more civil rights being gained by African-Americans. For these reasons, …show more content…
We don’t even consider a player’s skin color when we root on our favorite team. This was not always the case and up until 1947, there was a separate league for black players called the Negro League. Jackie got his start in this league. Some managers in MLB were starting to recruit players from the Negro League. Branch Rickey was the owner of the Dodgers and saw how good Robinson was and signed him to the Dodgers. Robinson initially faced anger and hatred from other players and fans. This was a difficult challenge for him because he promised Rickey that he would not fight back. Eventually his hard work, good attitude, and great skills turned people into his fans. This was stated in the story as “His success gained him fans from all over the country.” He won Rookie of the Year in his first year in the league. This change in owner’s, player’s, and fan’s attitudes allowed for other teams to sign African-American players to their teams. The story says “In later seasons, more African-Americans joined other teams in the Major Leagues.” This completely changed the league and paved the way for other black players to have a career in …show more content…
At the time he was playing, African-Americans were fighting for their Civil Rights. By breaking into an all white sport, and fighting for equal treatment in baseball, Robinson set an example for African-Americans to fight for equal treatment in the rest of society. Many African-Americans looked up to him as a hero and he motivated them to fight for equal rights in their jobs just like he had done. The text says “His career helped the upcoming Civil Rights Movement by giving Americans a heroic African-American sports figure to rally