FREE ESSAY ON JACKY ROBINSON

JACKY ROBINSON

Jackie Robinson (1919-72)
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia., on January 31, 1919 to Jerry and
Mallie Robinson. He grew up in Pasadena, California. In high school and at Pasadena
Junior College he showed great athletic skill in track, basketball, football, and
baseball. He left school in 1941 and was drafted the following year for Army service
during World War II. After receiving a medical discharge in 1945, Jackie Robinson decided
to tryout for the Boston Red Sox, but ended up not making the team. He spent a year
playing baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. Later he
played in the 1946 season with the Montreal Royals, a Dodgers farm club, and led the
International League in hitting with a .349 average. He stole 40 bases and scored 113
runs.
When the Dodgers opened their 1947 season, Robinson was playing second base. On April 10,
1947, Jackie Robinson became the first black player to sign a major league contract in
the 20th century. During his first game, Jackie went hitless in three at-bats, but
flawlessly handled 11 chances at first base. In 1947, Jackie hit .297 and stole 29 bases
while also playing first base for the Dodgers. Jackie led the National League in stolen
bases and was named rookie of the year. The main problem he had to overcome was
controlling his short temper after hearing so many racial remarks from the crowds and
other ball players, including his own teammates.
On July 12, 1949, Jackie Robinson made his All-Star game debut for the National league.
This was the first time that a black player participated in an All-Star game. On October
6, 1949, Jackie Robinson scored the only run in the Dodgers 1-0 win over the New York
Yankees in game two of the World Series. This was the only game that the Dodgers won in
the 1949 World Series. In 1949, with a .342 average, he was named the most valuable
player in the league. He was one of the game's best base runners, with a total of 197
stolen bases.
The Dodgers won six National League pennants during Robinson's ten playing years. On
December 13, 1956, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded Jackie Robinson to the Dodger's rival
team, the New York Giants in hopes that Robinson would be able to boost the low
attendance. He was being traded for a pitcher named Dick Littlefield and $35,000 in cash.
At this time, Robinson was having problems with his legs and was thinking about quitting
baseball. Less than a month later, Jackie retired from baseball in 1956 with a lifetime
batting average of .311.
On January 23, 1962, the Baseball Writers Association of America elected Jackie Robinson
to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Robinson became the first
African-American to be elected. After retirement he became a vice-president of a New York
restaurant firm and the president of a land-development company. From 1964 to 1968 he
served as special assistant for civil rights to Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York.
He also worked with drug-prevention programs. Robinson starred in the motion picture The
Jackie Robinson Story which was made in 1950 and was the author, with Alfred Duckett, of
I Never Had It Made in 1972.
On October 24, 1972, Jackie Robinson died from a heart attack at the age of 53 in
Stamford, Connecticut. Ten days earlier, Robinson had thrown out the first pitch at the
beginning of the second game in the 1972 World Series.
Bibliography
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