Essay --

Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Ozzie Smith, and Tony Gwynn; What do they all have in common? They are all some of the most famous African-American baseball players to ever play in the Major Leagues. One man, though, made it possible for all of them to play in the Major Leagues. That man’s name is Jackie Robinson. Although Jackie Robinson faced many adversities throughout his lifetime, he persevered and became the first African-American in Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier and changing the world of baseball forever. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, to Jerry and Mallie Robinson. President Theodore Roosevelt, who died twenty-five days before Robinson was born, was the inspiration for his middle name (42 Facts). Robinson’s first stint with adversity came just six months after he was born when his father abandoned the family and ran off to Texas with the neighbor’s wife. Robinson and his four older siblings were raised single-handedly by their mother. After his dad deserted the family, Robinson’s mother decided to sell what little they had and move herself and her children in with her brother in Pasadena, California (Robinson, Jackie). While his mother was at work, Robinson would go to school with his older sister, Willa Mae, but since he was not old enough to be enrolled, he would often times have to sit in the sandbox outside of the school all day. Robinson’s first encounter with racial scrutiny came when he was about eight year s old. He was sweeping the sidewalk when a little white neighbor girl shouted â€Å"Nigger, nigger, nigger!† at him. He was old enough to know how to respond and did so by calling the little girl â€Å"cracker.† Her father stormed out of the house to confront Rob... ...ican TV sports analyst. He broadcasted for ABC’s MLB Game of the Week in 1965 (42 Facts). On October 24, 1972, Robinson died from complications of diabetes in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 53. Many people say the diabetes worsened because of the stress he was under throughout his life. In June of that year, the Dodgers retired Robinson’s uniform number of 42 and all the teams in the league began to follow and also retire the number 42. Baseball would be extremely different than it is now if it was not for Jackie Robinson. He did not just break the color barrier, he showed this country that if you never give up, great things can happen. He brought whites and blacks together in a time where it was hard to do such a thing. Jackie Robinson will always be one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game. After all, he was pushed to be the greatest.