Jackie Robinson Influence On Sports

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Jackie Robinson, is known for being the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia as the grandson of a slave. He was the youngest of five children. He played baseball, basketball, football, and ran track while attending the University of California, Los Angeles. He was one of the top players on the football team as well as the only athlete to letter in four different sports. Jackie left college before getting a chance to graduate because of financial problems. After his departure from UCLA he began working for the National Youth Administration at a work camp but it soon closed down and in 1941 he joined the Honolulu Bears, a professional football team in Honolulu, Hawaii.…show more content…
In a game with Cincinnati, the players started yelling things to Jackie and then to Pee Wee. Pee Wee heard one of the players yell, "How can you play with this nigger?" so Pee Wee walked over to Jackie who was standing at first base, smiled and put his arm around him. The two then became known as a defensive team but of course the harassment did not stop there. Both players and fans continued to verbally harass him. Some pitchers threw balls at him; sometimes even at his head; baserunners attempted to cut him with their cleats. One team in particular, the Philadelphia Phillies, were extremely abusive with the support of their manager Ben Chapman. When the Dodgers played the Phillies on April 22nd, the Phillies players continuously yelled at Jackie making upsetting remarks at him. It was not long after that Baseball Commissioner, A. B. "Happy" Chandler I, admonished the Phillies and asked Jackie to pose for a picture with Chapman. He thought it would make good publicity. Although neither Jackie nor Chapman refused, it was something neither of the two truly wanted to…show more content…
He wanted to either manage or coach a team but he didn't receive any offers so instead he became a businessman and the Vice-President of the Chock Full O' Nuts corporation. In the 1960 election he contributed to the presidential campaign for Herbert Humphrey. He also met Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. He supported Nixon during the election but after Nixon was elected in 1968 he claimed to have regretted it. He also served on the board of the NAACP until 1967 and only resigned because of the small amount of younger influence on the board. In 1962 Jackie Robinson was initiated into the Hall of Fame but it wasn't until June 4,1972 that #42, Jackie's uniform number, was officially retired. On October 14, 1972 before game 2 of the World Series, Jackie made his final public appearance. Jackie's last few years were difficult. His oldest son Jackie Jr, who had fought a drug problem, was killed in a car accident. Jackie also severe case of diabetes and it caused him to lose sight in one of his eyes. It also contributed to many of his heart problems. On October 24, 1972 Jackie Robinson was announced dead in Stamford, Connecticut. He was buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. After his burial the highway that goes through the cemetery, which was then called the Interborough Parkway, was renamed Jackie Robinson

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