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Practice dictation & shadowing on the daily life story: Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
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Jackie Robinson
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on April 15th, 1947 Jackie Robinson 1919 to 1972 became the first African American to play in the Major League Baseball league.
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On that day he started for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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The socalled color line had existed in baseball and many other sports for decades.
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In American sports, the complete segregation of whites and blacks into separate leagues and teams.
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There had been blacks in the sport of baseball for many years.
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In fact, in the 19th century, blacks had played alongside white players in several leagues in the US.
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However, an 1896 court case reinforced the segregation of baseball players according to the color of their skin.
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As a result, black players were excluded from Major League Baseball, relegated either to the position of mascot for the Major League team, or forced to organize their own loosely structured ***** teams.
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Robinson, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, excelled in several sports before serving in the US Army.
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Initially a player in the ***** Leagues, Robinson played in a period when there was increasing support for breaking down the color barrier.
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The Brooklyn Dodgers manager took on Robinson mainly because Robinson was a solid player, not because he was interested in challenging the color barrier.
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Also, he felt it would increase attendance at the Brooklyn games, especially of African American fans.
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In 1946, Robinson went to Florida to play for the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers farm team.
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This move was risky on Robinson's part, as racism was still rampant in the US, especially in the South.
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In Florida, there was segregation laws that prohibited blacks and whites from sharing the same restaurants, hotels, and other public places, including the baseball field.
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Robinson was forced to stay in a colored only hotel.
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It was believed that there would be a greater chance of Robinson being integrated into the minor league in the more liberal and open environment of Canada.
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Eventually, Robinson played his way into the Major League.
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However, the transition was not a smooth one.
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In the first year, he had many pitches thrown his way and was regularly taunted by fans and players.
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However, his season was a successful one and he was voted Rookie of the Year.
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Robinson's Major League career lasted 10 years.
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Despite his initial success in breaking the color line in baseball, it would take many decades before there would be complete acceptance of black players.
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To this day, there is under representation of blacks and management and coaching positions in baseball.
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Robinson died in 1972.
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His headstone bears an epitaph that he wrote a life is not important except in the impact that it has on other lives.