It is rare in our lifetimes to truly see greatness that changes the face of society and sport. History is littered with only a few stories of epic human greatness, especially in the sporting world, that has broken down barriers, stood the test of time and still resonates with the sport, the nation and the world. One of those stories is that of the great baseball player, Jackie Robinson. http://www.ripit.com/

1. The Man, The Baseball Legend, The
Icon
Presented by RIP-IT Sports

2. It is rare in our lifetimes to truly see greatness
that changes the face of society and sport.
History is littered with only a few stories of
epic human greatness, especially in the
sporting world, that has broken down barriers,
stood the test of time and still resonates with
the sport, the nation and the world. One of
those stories is that of the great baseball
player, Jackie Robinson.

4. The Early Years
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31st in 1919
and seemed destined for greatness in athleticism
since his participation in several of sporting
teams. As a guard on his high school basketball
team, Robinson varsity lettered and again as the
football team’s quarterback. He also lettered as a
track athlete and in 1936 he won the annual
Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament. That
same year he also earned a place on the Pomona
All Star Baseball team which also included
baseball greats such as Bob Lemon and Ted
Williams.

5. Robinson’s Time in Hawaii
By 1941, Robinson was slated to be an incredible
football star through his playing for the
semiprofessional Honolulu Bears. The racially
integrated football team allowed him to play on
the weekends and work as a construction worker
throughout the week. After an exhibition game in
Pearl Harbor and a short season, Jackie headed
back to the mainland just two days before the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and took America
into a world war.

6. A War Lieutenant
Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Robinson
was drafted to Army military service, eventually
becoming a second lieutenant and being assigned
to Fort Hood, Texas. While serving his country in
1944, Robinson was boarding an Army un-
segregated bus line and was told to move to the
back of the bus because of his color. When
Robinson refused to do so, he was court-
martialed. An act that later was rescinded and
turned into an honorable discharge because
Robinson was not disobeying any military duties.

8. A Move to Professional Baseball
Following his discharge, Jackie took a coaching
job for a college basketball team during their
1944-1945 season. By the 1945 baseball season,
Robinson had resigned from the coaching job and
begun playing for the Negro Leagues’ Kansas City
Monarchs. The following year he moved up to the
minors, spring training with the Montreal Royals.
And on a fateful day in April, Robinson was called
up to the Majors to play the 1947 season with the
Brooklyn Dodgers.

9. A Hero in Baseball is Born
While Robinson was already a war hero, he
became a baseball legend the day he debuted as
the first black player in the Majors since 1880. On
April 15th, 1947, Robin stepped out onto Ebbets
Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators which
included 14,000 Negros in attendance. During his
first season he played 151 games as the Dodgers’
first baseman with a batting average of .296 and
scoring 125 runs. It was during this season that
Robinson faced the most persecution for his color
and still won the MLB Rookie of the Year Award.

11. A Baseball Champion
Jackie went on to play several more seasons for
the Dodgers, being named an MLB All-Star 6
years in a row (1949-1954). In his 1954 season,
Robinson had his best game on June 17th where
he hit two home runs and two doubles. The next
season Jackie led the Dodgers to his only
championship win in the World Series of 1955
against the rival New York Yankees. Robinson
played his last game in the MLB and for the
Dodgers on October 10th in 1956, ending a career
that had changed the face of baseball and
removed segregation in professional sports.

13. A Leader On and Off the Field
Following his professional baseball career, Robinson was
known as a leader in other endeavors. He was the first
African American television analyst in the history of the
MLB as well as the first black Vice President of an American
Corporation (Chock Full O'Nuts in 1957). He also was an
entrepreneur, an author and a community leader. After his
death, Robinson was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold
Medal and inducted as a member of the Major League
Baseball All-Century Team. Before his death (Oct 24th,
1972), Robinson was also inducted into the Baseball Hall of
Fame (1962) where he encouraged all those voting to
consider only his field qualifications, rather than his
significant cultural impact on the game.

14. An Icon in The Civil Rights Movement,
the Game of Baseball and History
Jackie Robinson became an icon in the American civil rights
movement with Dr Martin Luther King Jr. stating him to be,
“A legend and symbol in his own time… who challenged the
dark skies of intolerance and frustration.” He changed the
game of baseball by removing nearly 6 decades of
segregation within the sport and as Doris Kearns Goodwin
put it, “His accomplishments allowed black and white
Americans to be more respectful and open to one another
and more appreciative of everyone’s abilities.” It is rare in
our lifetimes to truly see greatness that changes the face of
society and sport. The story of Jackie Robinson broke down
barriers, has stood the test of time and still resonates with
the sport, the nation and the world.