Jackie Robinson's Important Influence in Baseball and American Life

As with many aspects of life in late-19th century America, baseball was segregated. There were separate teams for black players because they were not allowed to play on white professional teams. In the late 1800s, professional African American players played on all-black teams such as the Cuban Giants. But some baseball managers and owners of Major League teams wanted to hire African Americans. In order to get around the rules, they listed some black players as Hispanic or Native American. Baseball remained a segregated sport well into the 1940s. In 1945, a talented young player named Jackie Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League. He would become baseball's "great experiment."

In 1945, baseball policies separating black and white players changed forever when Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey signed a contract with Jackie Robinson that would bring him into the major leagues. Rickey, who called the move baseball's "great experiment," knew that the player chosen to cross the "color line" would have to be a strong individual, able to stand up to intense public observation and also be able to avoid confrontation even when met with insults and hostility. Jackie Robinson was an excellent athlete. In college, he competed in baseball, football, basketball, and track. He was also involved in civil rights and he had served in the Army. On October 23, 1945, Robinson officially signed his contract with the Dodgers. After a year on a minor league team to sharpen his skills, he put on his first Dodgers uniform (number 42) in April 1947.

Reaction to Robinson from baseball fans and players ranged from enthusiasm and joy to hostility and death threats. However, his talent on the field could not be denied, and he won respect as well as the first Rookie of the Year award in 1947. In 1949, he won the National League's Most Valuable Player award, leading the league with a .342 batting average and 37 stolen bases. Off the field, he was the subject of everything from songs to a feature-length film about his life. Robinson even starred as himself in the movie, "The Jackie Robinson Story." Released in 1950, it was one of the first films to portray a black man as an American hero. Robinson retired from baseball after the 1956 season. A legend even in his day, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility.

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