Jackie Robinson Research Paper

Jackie Robinson, despite being African American, was a legend of baseball in the 1950s. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He was born January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. Jackie was the youngest in his family of four boys and one girl. (Robinson 4) His father left his family into poverty, when he ran away to California with his neighbors wife. (Robinson pg. 3) Jackie followed after his brother Mack in athleticism who won a race in the olympics in front of Adolf Hitler. Although Jackie “Never Had it Made”, he became a legend of baseball.

Jackie Robinson had a tough early life. His family grew up in poverty. His father worked in a farm. (Robinson pg.3) Later, when his father left his family, his

Jackie Robinson had a busy schedule playing many sports at UCLA. In UCLA, he was introduced to his future wife, Rachel Isum by his friend, Ray Bartlett. Jackie was the best in school at baseball, but he had to leave school after two years. There were many factors of Robinson leaving UCLA. He thought no amount of education could help a black man get a job. He also thought he needed to help out with his mother’s financial burden. Lastly, he saw no future in his athletic life and wanted to become an athletic director. (Robinson pg. 12) His girlfriend Rachel didn’t like this decision. She wanted him to stay and get a college degree. In the end, she supported his decision. When Jackie got home, he was offered a job as an assistant athletic director. (Robinson pg. 12) Near the end of 1941, Jackie played for his first pro team, the Honolulu Bears. He played one season, and it ended in November. Jackie got really lucky. He left Hawaii two days before the bombing of pearl harbor. In the spring of 1942, he was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas by the army. After training there, he applied to Officer’s candidate school. There was a delay, but with some help from Joe Louis, he became a second lieutenant in the beginning of 1943. Jackie proposed to Rachel and they announced they were getting married after Rachel finished school. Jackie and Rachel broke up, and Rachel became a cadet. Is all of this information necessary to

Jackie was let to go from Fort Riley when they knew he couldn’t play on the football team, because he was black. His mother knew that he missed Rachel, so she told Jackie to get back together with Rachel, and they did. Jackie was once sent to a hospital for examination from an ankle injury. On the way there, he was told to move to the back of the bus. He just ignored the order and stood up for the rights of blacks. He was brought to court for this. In November 1944, the discharge was broughten. That is just an example of the prejudice that Robinson encountered. Jackie’s first black baseball team was the Kansas City Monarchs. They paid him four-hundred dollars a month, which was a lot for Jackie. Branch Rickey was the best thing that happened to Jackie. He wanted to bring blacks into baseball. He picked Jackie for the experiment. Jackie agreed, and said he had the guts to be in the MLB. He was paid six-hundred dollars a month. He played for the Montreal farm club. (Robinson 39) Jackie and Rachel got married in 1946. (Robinson 38) He was a great addition for the Royals. He hit many home runs. His team won the Minor-League pennant. He had so many fans. In the beginning of 1947, Jackie was told to learn how to play first base. On April 9, 1947, Jackie was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers. His number was 42. His first game, he played horrific. Jackie was in a slump, until they beat the Phillies on a walk off run from Robinson. Jackie