Jackie Robinson In The Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

It is hard to believe at one point in time that African Americans were not allowed to participate in all the same activities as whites were. Something as simple as drinking out of a drinking fountain wasn’t quite as simple for someone of color and African Americans playing baseball, America’s sport, was not even thought of. Well, not until Jackie Robinson came along that is. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American successful in breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. To do so, Robinson presented with a few of the characteristics that Malcolm Gladwell introduced us to in his book “Outliers.” Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia to his

Knowing that Robinson had went to college on an athletic scholarship and earned Varsity letters in four sports and All-American honors in football while at the University of California, Rickey had his eyes set on him. Currently an infielder for the Kansas City Monarchs, Rickey knew that Robinson was the kind of guy he needed. Rickey needed more than a great ballplayer, he needed a man who could take the racial abuse and insults that were about to come. Rickey convinced Robinson that they needed to win to show everyone that Robinson was a good ball player and gentleman, without having any incidents that would affect him negatively in the public’s eyes. Robinson said “Mr. Rickey, I think I can play baseball in Montreal. I think I can play ball in Brooklyn. If you want to take this gamble, I promise you there will be no incident.” (Kashatus, William. “Jackie Robinson: Baseball’s Noble Experiment. American History Magazine.) From this moment forward, Rickey and Robinson were going to shake things up in the world of baseball. They were going to integrate Major League Baseball. They were going to show the world that Robinson’s color had nothing to do with his baseball ability or the kind of man he

Negro League owners were afraid that Robinson’s signing would lead to declining fan interest of their clubs so the Kansas City Monarchs threatened to sue the Dodgers because Robinson was already under contract with them. After signing the contract, the criticism became hostile. It was so bad that even Rickey’s family tried to make him give up on trying to break the color barrier, but of course he refused and so did Robinson. Robinson endured racist remarks from fans and opposing players and he received humiliating treatment in the South. By the end of his first season, his hair was gray and he suffered with chronic stomach trouble where he was unable to eat or sleep. But both him and Rickey knew this had to happen in order to break that color barrier. Rickey said that “the greatest untapped reservoir of raw matieral in the history of the game is the black race. The Negroes will make us winners for years to come for that I will happily bear being called a ‘bleeding heart’ and a ‘do-gooder’ and all that humanitarian rot.” (Kashatus, William. “Jackie Robinson: Baseball’s Noble Experiment.” American History