Jackie R. Robinson

My hero is Jackie Robinson because he is a great baseball player who broke the color barrier and started the integration of players of different races in baseball. Jackie opened a gateway for most of today’s sports stars that are black. Without him many sports stars would not have been allowed to play any sport.

Jackie Robinson sliding into home (http://www.dugout-memories.com/goffebb6.jpg)

Jackie was born in Georgia, then a year later he and his family moved to California. At his high school he was a shortstop for baseball and a quarterback for football. He was also on the school tennis and track teams. Jackie’s early role model was his brother, Mack Robinson. His brother was a world class sprinter.

Jackie Robinson hiting a ball (http://www.home-team-sports.com/image_manager/Jackie_Robinson.jpg)

In 1942 Jackie was drafted into the United States Army and sent to a segregated unit at Fort Riley in Kansas (note it’s a segregated unit). Since he was black, they would not let him enter Officer’s Candidate School. Finally, after several complaints, black men were allowed to have officer training.

In 1945 Marv Williams gave Jackie a secret tryout for the Boston Red Sox and was impressed by him. The team’s owners were impressed, but did not sign the contract for Jackie. On October 23, 1945, Jackie was signed on to the Dodgers. During his season he played mostly second baseman.

On October 24, 1972, Jackie Robinson died. His death was tragic and a lot of people grieved for him.

Jackie Robinson is my hero because he was passionate about his cause and would not give up. He was determined to change the way people thought about black people and how they treated them.