Jackie Robinson: Breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Jackie Robinson was a phenomenal athlete as well as a brave and .
courageous individual. Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball's color .
barrier in 1947, when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers (Rennert51). This was all part of Branch Rickey's plan to integrate professional baseball. If it were not for the likes of Branch Rickey's experiment with Robinson where would baseball be today, without the likes of talents such as Ken Griffey Jr., Hank Arron, Willie Mays and countless other black baseball players? Rickey needed a good ball player, but not only that he needed a tough man who could handle the pressure of being harassed on a daily basis by the fans, and also the players. Although Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier racism still remains today in the MLB.
Jackie Robinson's family were sharecroppers. He was born the youngest of five children(Edgar, Frank, Mack, Willa May). Money did not come easily for the Robinson family since they were sharecroppers (Tygiel 15). When Jackie was six months old his father left the family. The Robinson's then decided .
to move to Pasadena, CA. This is were Jackie started to make his first friends .
(Coombs 12). Jackie joined a gang called the "pepper street gang" this gang was .
made up of the athletes on his street, which were Black, White, Asian, and .
Hispanic (Coombs 15). Most of the gangs time was playing sports, but when they .
had free time, they were causing trouble. Jackie and other members of his gang .
served jail time. Other than his friends some of Jackie's biggest influences were .
his mom Mallie, the family pastor Karl Downs, Carl Anderson the local mechanic, .
and Rachel Islum whom he met when he attended UCLA (Coombs 16). Robinson .
once said, "she became the most important and helpful and encouraging person I .
ever met in my whole life" said Robinson(Coombs 25).
