What will jackie robinson be remembered for

When Jackie first donned a Brooklyn Dodger uniform, he pioneered the integration of professional athletics in America. As a result of his great success, Jackie was eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in As an African-American baseball player, Jackie was on display for the whole country to judge. Rachel and their three children, Jackie Jr. Balls were thrown at his head on a regular basis, players went out of their way to spike him on the base paths, vicious racial epithets were screamed at him by players and fans alike.

The St. Louis Cardinals even threatened to strike rather than play against an African American. He had to endure all of this while keeping a stoic attitude, which was completely against his character. He had to promise Dodger general manager Branch Rickey that, for three years, he would not answer back or retaliate, no matter how bad things got.

He knew that as much as he dearly wanted to, punching out a bigot who spiked him would lead the rest of the owners—who didn't want blacks in baseball, either—to say, "See, we knew they couldn't hack it. When, in July , he refused to move to the rear of a military bus at Fort Hood, Texas, Robinson was charged with insubordination and court-martialed.

But the case against him was weak—the Army had recently issued orders against such segregation—and a good lawyer won his acquittal. While with the Monarchs, Robinson established himself as a fine defensive shortstop with impressive base stealing and hitting abilities.

But he hated barnstorming through the South, with its Jim Crow restaurants and hotels, and frequently allowed his temper to get the better of him. Some teammates thought Jackie too impatient with the segregationist treatment of blacks. Others admired him for his determination to take a stand against racism. Yet Robinson never saw himself as a crusader for civil rights as much as an athlete who had grown disillusioned with his chosen career.

The black press, some liberal sportswriters and even a few politicians were banging away at those Jim Crow barriers in baseball, but I never expected the walls to come tumbling down in my lifetime. I began to wonder why I should dedicate my life to a career where the boundaries of progress were set by racial discrimination.

There were indications, however, that the tide was turning in favor of integration. Nevertheless, the tryout brought Robinson to the attention of Clyde Sukeforth, the chief scout of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson had no illusions about the purpose of his meeting with the Dodgers.

But he was convinced that he was morally right and he shrewdly sensed that making the game a truly national one would have healthy financial results. The Monarchs were especially angered by the signing and went so far as to threaten a lawsuit against the Dodgers for tampering with a player who was already under contract. The Dodger president refused, speaking only of the excitement and competitive advantage that black players would bring to Brooklyn baseball, while downplaying the moral significance he attached to integration.

Rickey named Mississippian Clay Hopper, who had worked for him since , to manage the Royals. There were reports, probably true, that Hopper begged Rickey to reconsider giving him this assignment. Finding himself unable to eat or sleep, he went to a doctor, who concluded he was suffering from stress. Despite the tension and distractions, Robinson managed to hit for an impressive.

After the final game in that championship series, grateful Royals fans hoisted Robinson onto their shoulders and carried him to the locker room. To promote and protect his young black star, Rickey made some additional moves. First, in order to avoid Jim Crow restrictions, he held spring training in Havana, Cuba, instead of Florida. Next, he moved Robinson, an experienced shortstop and second baseman, to first base, where he would be spared physical contact with opposing players who might try to injure him deliberately.

I want you to hit that ball. I want you to get on base and run wild. Steal their pants off. Be the most conspicuous player on the field.

The newspapermen from New York will send good stories back about you and help mold favorable public opinion. Robinson more than obliged, batting.

But instead of helping him, the performance served only to alienate him from his future teammates, many of whom were Southerners. Alabamian Dixie Walker drafted a petition stating that the players who signed would prefer to be traded than to play with a black teammate.

While the team was playing exhibition games in Panama, Walker proceeded to gather signatures from Dodger teammates. When Dodger manager Leo Durocher learned of the petition, he was furious. The rebellion squelched, Rickey announced on April 10, , that Jackie Robinson had officially been signed to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The noble experiment was in full swing. Of all the major league cities, Brooklyn, with its ethnically diverse and racially mixed neighborhoods, was just the place to break the color barrier. This warm affinity was fostered, in part, by their cramped but colorful ballpark, Ebbets Field, located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

The double-decked grandstands stood only along the foul lines, allowing the fans a special intimacy wit the players. When Robinson made his first appearance as a Dodger on April 15, , more than 26, fans packed Ebbets Field; reportedly some 14, of those were African American.

The afternoon was cold and rainy, and Robinson went hitless. Although Robinson quickly proved he belonged as a player, the color of his skin was an issue for opposing teams and fans. Hearing racist taunts from fans and players prior to a game, Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese is said to have put his arm around Robinson on the field to indicate that he was accepted by those wearing a Brooklyn uniform. Still, Robinson endured racist obscenities, hate mail and death threats for much of his career.

It was his play in the field that ultimately silenced his critics. Despite having been signed by the Dodgers at the relatively old age of 28, Robinson would go on to hit. He became the first Black player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award in , when he led the league in hitting with a. Robinson was an All Star every year from Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life.

I have learned that I remain a Black in a white world. After retiring from the Dodgers, Robinson acted as a sportscaster, worked as a business executive at Chock full o'Nuts and was active in the NAACP and other civil rights groups. Weakened by heart disease and diabetes, Robinson died in at the age of 53 from a heart attack suffered at his home in Stamford , Connecticut.

Thousands attended his funeral service, including former teammates and other professional athletes. Following his death, his wife Rachel, by then an assistant professor in the Yale School of Nursing , established the Jackie Robinson Foundation. In addition to recognizing other trailblazers in sports, the foundation awards the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship to minority students.

Those players already wearing the number were allowed to keep it. Baseball Hall of Fame.