A learning story about Jackie Robinson’s life
In 1947, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was the first African American to break the color barrier in baseball! Before he played baseball, Jackie played basketball, golf and tennis. When he was in college he was drafted in the army, and after that, he joined the Royals and Dodgers baseball teams. Jackie was born at a time when black people were not treated fairly. He was never afraid to speak up for himself and others. The Royals and Dodgers baseball teams drafted him precisely for his ability to speak up and for his talent. Life wasn’t easy as a black person, and Jackie worked hard to achieve success.
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in the town of Cairo, Georgia. Jackie was the youngest of 4 siblings. He had three brother’s, Edgar, Frank, and Mack, and a sister named Willa Mae. His mother, Mallie, wanted to keep her children safe and away from all of the racist things happening around them. Mallie decided to go to Southern California, where her relatives lived. When they arrived, all of Jackie’s neighbors were white and they did not like the Robinsons. People called Jackie rude names. Their neighbors called the police just because Jackie was playing outside, and they complained that he was “too noisy.” When the great depression hit, Jackie wanted to help, so he worked odd jobs. In High School, he was a star athlete. Writers wrote about him and put a big picture of him in the front of the sports section in the newspaper. In 1939, a tragedy hit. His brother Frank died in a motorcycle accident. Jackie played sports to get his mind off the fact that his beloved brother died. He played in a tennis and golf championship and won in the olympics. In Jackie’s second year at UCLA, he met Rachel Isum. They had a lot in common. They both went to church and didn’t like parties. He coached at a training center but it shut down not too long after. He got to play football in Honolulu but after the season ended, he was still jobless. That was when he heard the news about war.
The world was in the middle of a war. While coming back to California from Honolulu, he noticed that crew members were painting the ship’s portholes black so that they could be harder to spot at night. Japanese planes bombed a close navy base and the United States joined forces with Great Britain and France. Jackie was drafted into the US army. In 1942, he was accepted into Officer Candidate School. Then, he was sent to an army base in Kentucky. He met a soldier that played in the Negro baseball Leages. The soldier explained to him that there was a good amount of money in playing in an all black baseball team. There he mentioned that the Kansas City Monarchs were looking for players. On November 24, 1944, he quit the army and earned a spot on the Monarchs.
Jackie hadn’t played baseball in years and yet he was thrown into a game. Jackie didn’t think that he could fit in but he tried his best to catch up to the rest of his teammates. He was playing a game in Chicago when he noticed a talent scout waving to him. The head coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, was recruiting for players to join the team. Jackie met Rickey on August 28, 1945. Rickey notified Jackie that he wanted him to join the Brooklyn Ball club. He wanted Jackie in the Dodgers Minor League team first, the Montreal Royals. Good players in the Royals would eventually move up to the Dodgers. Jackie knew that Rickey believed in equality. Before he left the building, Jackie signed up to play for the Montreal Royals. Jackie was excited to play for the Royals. On February 10, 1946, Jackie married Rachel Isum. A few weeks later, it was Spring training time in Dayton beach, Florida. Jackie knew that it would be hard to play as a black person in the Minor Leagues. Rachel and Jackie were bumped from flights and their seats were taken by white people. They took a bus instead. No matter how tired Jackie was, he knew that he had to be at his best for the first day of training. He played well and was drafted by the Royals! Sometimes teams would cancel games because they did not want to play against a black player. Some teams locked their gates so Jackie and his team couldn’t enter. Even a few of his teammates acted like he was not there! Crowds loved to watch Jackie try out new positions. Jackie led his team to the Little World series and won! The next month he celebrated the birth of his son, Jackie Jr. on November 18 at a Los Angeles hospital. He spent time with his family but soon he would be ready for spring training again. Now it was time he proved that he could be in the Majors. Spring training started in 1947 in Cuba for Dodgers and Royals. The Dodgers wanted him to play first base. Jackie met with Rickey again and he heard the news he wanted to hear: he was a Dodger! Rickey asked Jackie to play one last time as a Minor Leaguer. After that game, there was a short announcement that made history, a black player was in the majors! On April 15, 1947, Jackie played in his first Major League game and put on his #42 uniform for the first time. He became close with his teammates and his teammates showed everyone the friendship that they had with Jackie. He was becoming an important player bit by bit. Fans loved him. Jackie was named Rookie of the year- the first one ever. The Dodgers made it to the World Series but lost. It still felt like a victory. After the last game, all of his teammates came to Jackie to say goodbye. They shook hands and he felt like a part of the family. Jackie was named most valuable hitter in 1949. A year later, Branch Rickey left the Dodgers which was a huge blow to Jackie considering that Rickey was like a close father. Because of Jackie, slowly, more black players started to join the Major League. During those years, the civil rights movement grew tough and fought for the rights of blacks. In 1955, Jackie was getting old and he was still playing baseball. He was losing speed and played outfield now. Fans thought that his best days were behind him. But he continued to work hard and his team won the World Series against the New York Yankees. In 1956, Jackie was ready to retire.
Jackie played for the Dodgers for ten years, and during that time he and Rachel had two more children, Sharon and David. After baseball, Jackie kept helping people and speaking up. He wrote two books about his life and starred in a movie, The Jackie Robinson Story. He wanted to be a part of the civil rights movement and be with his family. In 1963, he walked with Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington to protest, peacefully, for equal rights. Dr. King and Jackie admired each other a lot. He started a company to build houses for poor people and kept breaking color barriers like being the first black vice president of a major American company. Jackie’s mother got to see all of his accomplishments until she died in 1968. Jackie suffered from diabetes and heart problems. His son, Jackie Jr. was addicted to drugs but he luckily kicked the addiction and became a drug counselor. However, he was killed in a car accident at the age of twenty-four. In 1972, the nation celebrated Jackie and the Dodgers’ success again. On October 15, Jackie threw out the first pitch at the World Series. Nine days later, Jackie died from a heart attack at his home at the age of fifty-three. Forty six years later, Jackie Robinson was voted into the Hall of Fame, a plaque noted his amazing skills at baseball and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Rachel, his wife, started the Jackie Robinson foundation in 1973. Jackie’s number, 42, was retired from the National and American Leagues. In 2004, it was decided that April 15th, the date of his first game with the Dodgers, would be celebrated as Jackie Robinson’s day. Every player would wear a #42 jersey to honor Jackie. Now, more than one-third of baseball players are black all thanks to Jackie Roosevelt Robinson’s determination and hard work.
In conclusion, Jackie Robinson was an important American who let everyone be treated equally. He liked to play sports and help everyone out. He joined the army to have an opportunity to do just that. Then he played baseball and was the first African American to join a Major League team. At the end, he pushed forward to help give equal rights to everyone. Now, African Americans have the same freedoms as white Americans and it all happened because of one brave boy named Jackie Robinson.
