Jackie Robinson was the first African American player to play in Major League Baseball. He went against the norm and played in baseball which at the time was a white man 's sport. He was a rebel who changed the game of baseball and who changed America. Robinson used nonviolence and talent to change the minds of many Americans.
Jackie was born January 31, 1919, to a family of sharecroppers in Georgia. Jackie was the baby of the family and always wanted to do something with his life. “He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College, where he was an excellent athlete and played four sports: football, basketball, track, and baseball. He was named the region 's Most Valuable Player in baseball in 1938.” (Biography.com Editors). Jackie started really excelling at sports in high school, where he lettered in football, basketball, track, and baseball. While playing sports at John Muir High School most of Jackie 's teammates were white, this helped inspire Jackie to pursue a career in professional sports, wanting to show the world African Americans could play sports too. Robinson also played tennis. In 1936 Jackie won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament. After high school Jackie attended Pasadena Junior college, where he played basketball,
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Jackie 's legacy still lives on. Every year on April 15 the MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson 's life with Jackie day, every player wears the number 42, to celebrate his life and legacy. There have been several movies and tv shows to celebrate his life. Jackie will remain one of the most influential rebels to ever live and has changed the game of baseball and America forever. “ After baseball, he was a widely-read newspaper columnist, divisive political activist and tireless advocate for civil rights, who later struggled to remain relevant as diabetes crippled his body and a new generation of leaders set a more militant course for the civil rights movement” ("Jackie