Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson Morgan 

I choose Jackie Robinson because he was the first black man in any professional sports league.  My book is called Jackie Robinson and it is a biography book. My book has 47 pages. The book covers a span of the time from when he was a little boy to when he was an adult. The book was published in 2016. Josh Gregory has written more than 80 books covering a wide range of subjects. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Jackie Robinson PortraitMorgan 

Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia, USA. When Jackie was 6 months old his dad ran away and then the family decided to move to Pasadena, California. Jackie lived with 3 older brothers; Edgar, Frank and Mack. He had one older sister, Willa Mae and his mother Mallie. The    Robinson’s had a tough life, but they were a loving family. Jackie went to Cleveland Elementary School, John Muir High, and UCLA. Jackie did a lot of things outside of school. He was selling newspapers and vending hot dogs. Although Jackie was not perfect. As a member of a street gang, he did vandalism and shoplifting. Jackie was inspired by his brother Mack Robinson by coming in second place in the Olympics held in Hitler's Germany, and yet when he returned to the U.S., he could not get any job, except as a garbage collector. Jackieś dream was to just be like his brothers. He wanted to excel at sports.

Jackie Robinson ActionMorgan  

Many of the challenges Jack faced involved racism. Jackie was drafted to go into professional American football, but then he was drafted to WWII. After army basic training, he met a boxer named Joe Louis. Joe talked to Jackie about officer training and then Jackie did the officer training. In 1944, a bus driver demanded Jackie to go to the back of the bus, further away from white passengers. Jackie refused sit at the back of the bus. Jackie was accused of breaking the military law. Jackie was not found guilty, but it affected Robinson deeply. He ask to be released from the service and was honorably discharged later that year. When Jackie was on the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, the President of the Dodgers, helped him a lot of times during the games. There was this brutal man named Ben Chapman. Ben Chapman was professional baseball manager for the Philadelphia Phillies and he was a racist. When it was Jackie's turn to bat, Ben walked out of the dugout and started call Jack very bad words. Jackie couldn't take it anymore. So he threw his bat to the ground and went back in the pit. Branch walk over to the pit to help him come down. Branch Rickey inspired Jackie by not giving up. Branch Rickey inspired Jackie. Branch really helped Jackie with not giving up. When Branch found Jackie, Jackie said, ¨So you're looking for a coward? No, I'm looking for a guy who does not fight back. One of Jackis's qualities was selflessness. In 1941, Jackie left UCLA to find a job and make money for his family. Another quality that Jackie had was perseverance. Jackie never gave up on his dream to play sports and it was not just him not giving up, Branch Rickey helped him ease into the major league baseball by putting him on the Montreal Royals, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson was also very brave. He fought against segregation and racism his whole life. He did not use any violence against others, which is pretty amazing. A sad thing that happened to Jackie Robinson is that his son Jack Robinson Jr. died at the age of 24 in a car crash. Jack Jr. died in June 17, 1971. In 1939, Jackie was the first student in UCLA to earn four varsity letters in each sport that he played, which was basketball, football, baseball and track. In 1945, Jack joined the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first black man to play in the major league. He won the Rookie of the Year in 1947. He was named league's MVP in 1949. Jackie was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Jackie died of a heart attack in October 24, 1972. All though Jackie still got awards after he died. In 1997, he won the Major League Baseball organization retired his number. Number 42 would always belong to Jackie Robinson. In 2004, Major League Baseball organization declared April 15 each year as Jackie Robinson Day.

What surprised me was that Jackie was in a street gang but it was also disappointing at the same time. If I could ask Jackie 3 questions, my first question would be how did you get four varsity letters in all four sports that you played in UCLA? My second question would be, how did you not harm someone when they're calling you bad names, or throwing food at you? My last question would be, what was your favourite sport when you were at UCLA? I think I would like to be Jackie's child because my dad would be very honorable. I really love that I read this book because it has so much information. What I learned from the book is that if someone is trying to take you down, just ignore them and keep on doing what you're doing. Jackie really pushed trying to stop segregation and racism. I would like to continue making all people equal. I think people who read the book would be inspired to do great things in their life. I feel that people who are racist would not enjoy this book. I am very happy I chose to learn about Jackie Robinson because he was not just the first black man in the Major League, he was kind, brave, and did a lot to help other people. Jackie Robinson would be a good role model and he is one of my heroes because he makes people want to be better than they are.