Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. “Jackie was the first African- American baseball player to win National League Rookie of the Year and the National League’s Most Valuable player of the Year. Jackie Robinson’s distinct challenge to accept the policies of the organized sports confirmed that change was possible and he deserves to be elected into the Hall of Fame. The problems he faced in the early years of his life made him a stronger person. He was discriminated by the color of his skin. He lived during the time of segregation. He was the only black family on his block. His family also received threats when we joined the Major Leagues by fans, other teams, and even his own teammates. Most of his life he lived in poverty without his father. Jackie was raised by a single mother, Mallie Robinson. He was forced to move around the United States because of his living conditions. He was born in Cairo, Georgia, then moved to Pasadena, California after his father left Jackie and his family. After being drafted into the Army, Jackie was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas. When Jackie Robinson started Spring Training with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he relocated to Florida. He attended the University of California Las Angels(UCLA) and completed two years. After the two years he competed he was forced to leave because of the financial difficulties in his family. He then went on to Honolulu, Hawaii afterwards and played with the Honolulu Bears. Jackie Robinson’s professional career path is extraordinary in the eyes of everyone. First, he was the first athlete at UCLA to win varsity letters in baseball, basketball, football, and track. Still being segregated at the time, Jackie played in the Negro League with the Kansas City Monarchs. After the Negro Leagues he made his Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played his first game at Ebbits Field on April 15, 1947. The strong person Jackie has become, has helped him achieve many goals. First off, he broke the Major League Baseball’s color line It excluded players from African-American descent from playing in the Major Leagues. In 1962, Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first African-American in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Then in 1972, Jackie’s jersey number, forty-two, was retired all throughout baseball. With all the things he was achieved the best one is the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The Jackie Robinson Foundation is one of the most helpful foundations in the United States. It provides financial needs for minority students. It gives the students who want to go to college a chance and helps guide them to get a higher education. It is a non-profit organization and is mostly ran by donations and program supporters. It was provide one thousand four hundred students from forty-three states financial support and has gained over fifty million dollars from program support. Jackie Robinson made it possible for change because he challenged himself to accept the policies of the organized sports. With the obstacles Jackie overcame, the career path Jackie led, and the goals Jackie has achieved has made him an extraordinary person. No doubt, Jackie Robinson should be elected into the Hall of Fame.