Jackie was at it again with sports and became the first UCLA Bruin to letter in four sports and was one of four black players on the football team making it the most integrated team in the nation. Competing in track and field he won the 1940 NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the long jump with a 24’10.5” jump. Surprisingly, his “worst sport” at UCLA was baseball where he hit a pathetic .097 on the season after going 4-4 in the season opener where he stole home twice, a reoccurring them throughout his career. During his time at UCLA he met his future wife, Rachel Isum, a freshman at the time who knew about Robinson due to his athletic prowess and accomplishments at Pasadena Junior College. Much to the dismay of his mother, Jackie left UCLA during the spring semester of his senior year and fell just short of graduating.
Although, to his dismay, despite his power establishing play on the field, his grades weren’t up to par enough to receive college scholarships. So, still with his love for the game, he played his first two years of college football at City College along with his childhood friend Al “A. C.” Cowlings. He played as a star. So much so, that “by the end of his sophomore year, he had garnered so much recognition that he received offers from fifty colleges (U*X*L Biographies).
He played both baseball and football starting his sophomore year because during his freshman year he got caught accepting money for playing on a professional team. The year of 1923, the Yankees signed Gehrig onto the team with a $1,500 bonus. He ended up replacing Wally Pipp as first basemen for the World Series. In 1938, Gehrig’s batting average dropped to .300 which hasn’t been that low since
Billy’s dream of bringing a World Series to the city of Oakland was eliminated. Billy Beane was born on March 29, 1962 in Orlando Florida. Being the son of a naval officer Billy and his family moved many places during his early years. He attended Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, California where he excelled at baseball, football and basketball.
These two terrific quarterbacks have amazing stats and accolades but the one who truly should take home the title of greatest of all time is Tom Brady. Tom Brady was born in San Mateo, California, the only son and fourth child of Galynn Patricia and Thomas Brady, Sr. Brady attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, graduating in 1995 at St. Mary's Cathedral. Brady was a terrific athelete playing football, basketball, and baseball. Brady was so good at baseball that he was drafted as a catcher in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos. Brady played college football for, and graduated from, the University of Michigan.
On July 11, 1914, two weeks after Archduke Ferdinand was shot in Serbia, the left-handed Ruth pitched his first game against the Cleveland Indians. That year the Babe had a 2-1 record as a pitcher and had a .200 batting average. That same year, Babe Ruth married his first wife, Helen Woodford, a young waitress, on October 14 at the St. Paul Catholic Church in Maryland. The Babe continued to play great baseball, compiling a 89-46 record and a 2.19 ERA in six years as a pitcher in Boston and .308 batting average in the same span. As his time at Boston progressed, the manager there decided due to Ruth’s amazing hitting ability to de-emphasize him as a pitcher and make him an outfielder.
Joe plays basketball; mainly because that’s the one thing his father cannot do well. He has gone to private schools his entire life and was hoping to go to public school in Seattle. During the summer he walks plays pickup games at Loyal High, the public school down the street from his house, and makes friends there. His parents are not impressed with his new friend, Ross, but agree to let Joe go to Loyal High until the police bring Joe home from Ross’ party after he passed out on the lawn from being drunk. Joe’s father brings home a bunch of books from Eastwood Academy’s summer reading list and Joe starts to read The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.
Malcolm relocated twice with his family before his fourth birthday. The Little home was burned to the ground in 1929 and two years later, Earl Little’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks in Lansing, Michigan. The Little family were certain that the Black Legion had something to do with both events but the police ruled them both as accidents. Malcolm graduated top of his class where he was the school’s only black student. He was very smart and excelled academically.
He played baseball throughout college as well; he was a pitcher and 1st baseman. He was also a fullback for the Columbia football team. But Yankee scout Paul Kirchell saw Gehrig’s potential and signed him to the Yankees with a $1,500 bonus. Gehrig made an immediate splash in the MLB. Although throughout his first 2 seasons he only accumulated 33 at bats, the next year he put up a .295 average and 20 homeruns.
In Remember The Titans coach Boone manipulates the students to overcome their ingrained racial distrust and play for each other in the football team. In one part of the movie he exaggerates his childhood to inspire and uplift the new quarterback, “sunshine”: Boone says: “when I was fifteen years old I lost my mother and my father in the same month Ronnie, same month. 12 brothers and sisters I was the youngest one of them, now I wasn't ready either, but they needed me. Your team needs you tonight, you're the Colonel, and you’re going to command your troops!” Coach Paul 'Doc' Hines: “You have twelve brothers and sisters”? Coach Boone: “Eight”.