Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr “Muhammad Ali”
Muhammad Ali once said, "Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.” Muhammad Ali stood for the common black man, so did Jackie Robinson. Both of these men were professional athletes, two different sports, baseball and boxing, were changed forever because of these men. They both broke segregation barriers not only in their profession but also outside the field and ring. Both these men had some similarities but overall had more differences whether it was their profession, who they were influenced by, or their involvement with war.
Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play on a professional baseball team, Muhammad Ali was arguably the best boxer in the world. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson became a historical figure through the civil rights movement. Throughout Jackie Robinson's baseball career he took physical abuse, verbal abuse, and death-treating letters. He knew what would happen if he stuck with it, he knew it might cost him his life but he also knew he was making history. One of Jackie Robinson's teammates, Pee Wee Reese, said "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." This changed the baseball game forever. 20 years after Jackie Robinson's great emerge, Muhammad Ali, had won a gold medal in the 1960s Summer Olympics at Rome. He was proud of himself, showing it off to the world, most importantly showing the black community, that anything could be done. Being proud of himself Ali had gone into a five-and-dime store but wasn't served because of his color. Ali had said to his wife, "I was young, black Cassius Marcellus Clay, who had won a gold medal for his country. I went to downtown Louisville to a five-and-dime store that had a soda fountain. I sat down at the counter to order a burger and soda pop. The waitress looked at me. … 'Sorry, we don't serve