Jackie Robinson Research Paper

Words: 2074
Pages: 9

Think of the number forty-two. This number can mean many different things to different people. Maybe it is a lucky number, the last digit of a phone number, or a year of birth. To a certain demographic, however, the number forty-two sparks a feeling of connection and inspiration. Forty-two is the jersey number of the famous Jackie Robinson. Robinson’s consistent heroic stance against racism changed the field of baseball from race-divided leagues into a more diverse community and influenced the end of segregation in the United States. Before Robinson played for the major league Brooklyn Dodgers, baseball leagues were split by race. According to Bethany Pierce, a historian, black American athletes were unable to join any existing league due to …show more content…
One of these activities was the sport of baseball. An example of a base is Fort Hood, Texas. This was the base where Jackie Robinson was assigned. One day, Robinson went out to the baseball field and asked if he could try out for the team. Robinson was met by a white officer jokingly telling him, “‘You have to play for the colored team.’ It was an unfunny joke: there was no colored team” (Simon 15). The fact that Robinson was not allowed to play baseball with soldiers he was expected to fight alongside showcases just how much segregation was embedded in American society. Jackie Robinson had undeniable talent in his athletic abilities; however, he and other skillful black athletes were not given suitable opportunities to showcase their strengths. After the end of WWII, the ‘Negro Leagues’ were reassembled (Pierce). With this revival, baseball scouts were finally starting to look into these leagues and were debating bringing in players of color. On April 16, 1945, scout Wendall Smith brought in three players from the ‘Negro Leagues’. Smith brought these players into Fenway Park to present them to the lead scout for the Boston Red Sox, Hugh