Closure

Prior to his death, Jackie Robinson made history in the sport of baseball even after he retired just nine year into his historic career. Robinson became the first black athlete to ever be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and in truly Robinson fashion he once againpaved the way and broke down walls for others to follow. Jackie Robinson was the epitome of inspiration and moral character and to this day is revered as one of the most important people in the history of sports. 

Renaissance Man

Jackie Robinson, although famous for his skills in baseball and active role in civil rights, was not only interested in these two things. Robinson was in the Army for a short while as well as a decorated athlete at UCLA. Robinson played four sports while in college and ironically baseball was the one he excelled least in while being an all American football player, setting the national high jump record in track, and setting school records in basketball.

(10:52 p.m.)

Jeff, if you read this....

I don't know why my posts are being posted at a later time. It is now 9:36 p.m. and I cannot fix the problem.

Popularity

Because of his instant popularity, Robinson was placed on the cover of the September issue of Time magazine in 1947.

He was also placed on the cover of Life magazine in May, 1950 after he played a part in a movie.

Mr. Robinson on the cover of Beckett magazine's 100th issue. Beckett magazine is a popular magazine for baseball card collectors.

Good quotes that show how Jackie Robinson impacted people

"Give me five players like (Jackie) Robinson and a pitcher and I'll beat any nine-man team in baseball." - Manager Chuck Dressen

"He knew he had to do well. He knew that the future of blacks in baseball depended on it. The pressure was enormous, overwhelming, and unbearable at times. I don't know how he held up. I know I never could have." - Duke Snider (Hall of Fame center fielder)

"Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player who could have done what he did. To be able to hit with everybody yelling at him. He had to block all that out, block out everything but this ball that is coming in at a hundred miles an hour. To do what he did has got to be the most tremendous thing I've ever seen in sports." - (Hall of Fame) Shortstop Pee Wee Reese

Source:

Jackie Robinson Quotes. (n.d.). Baseball Almanac - The Official Baseball History Site. Retrieved April 21, 2011, from http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quojckr.shtml

Instant Results

"Following Rickey's lead, some Major League clubs were quick to integrate, with the Dodgers having four or five blacks on their roster by the mid-1950s. Other teams held off as long as possible, with the last team to hire a black player, the Boston Red Sox, doing so only in 1959. Overall, in the first decade, only a small number of black players were hired by the Major League teams. By the 1960s, however, younger blacks and Latins came to excel at baseball, although they have never dominated the game to the extent of some other American professional sports, especially basketball. Professional football and basketball, which had also been racially segregated, integrated at the same time as baseball." (Rubinstein, 2003)

The above quote shows how much influence Jackie Robinson had on not only baseball but on other sports as well. It shows that in the short span of only 2 years ALL major league baseball teams had integrated as well as 2 other sports and it was all because of how well Jackie made the transition. By keeping his head down and just letting his actions speak for themselves to show he belonged he paved the way for others.

Source:

Rubinstein, W. (2003). Jackie Robinson and the integration of major league baseball. History Today, 53(9), 20.

Jackie's Hall of Fame Character

"After the game, Jackie Robinson came into our clubhouse and shook my hand. He said, 'You're a helluva ballplayer and you've got a great future.' I thought that was a classy gesture, one I wasn't then capable of making. I was a bad loser. What meant even more was what Jackie told the press, '(Mickey) Mantle beat us. He was the difference between the two teams. They didn't miss (Joe) DiMaggio.' I have to admit, I became a Jackie Robinson fan on the spot. And when I think of that world Series, his gesture is what comes to mind. Here was a player who had without doubt suffered more abuse and more taunts and more hatred than any player in the history of the game. And he had made a special effort to compliment and encourage a young white kid from Oklahoma." (Mantle, n.d.)

Mickey Mantle, the voice behind the quote above and my personal favorite player, is a Hall of Fame center fielder that played his first rookie season in 1952. This is important because he was from the southern state of Oklahoma which is notorious for its racist behavior and he began his career after Robinson but before he had really established himself as a Hall of Fame worthy athlete. I think the impact that this occurance had on Mickey Mantle, a white southern athlete, shows just what kind of character and influence Jackie had not only on other black athletes and young kids but also on his peers that at one point in their lives probably had some sort of prejudice enstilled in them. It shows that Robinson had a class act and the kind of character that others can easily look up to and try to emulate.