This guy was amazing. He had so many accomplishments that it's hard to count. But that is what I'm here to do. Are you wondering who this is? Well of course you are. He was the first African American in the Major Leagues and the first African American in the Major League Hall of Fame. Also, he had 197 steals, 137 homeruns, 734 runs batted in, and lastly he had 1518 hits. Maybe, now you can figure out who it is.

It is weird that he was not known in sports as a kid because he ended up being the superstar he was you would have thought he would have been known early on. Okay I'll tell you now this person is the great Jackie Robinson. Jackie's dad left him when he was baby so his family had to move to California to live with his uncle. Jackie wasn't known in sports as a kid until Jackie's brother Mack let him play in a baseball game with him and his friends. Jackie was in a gang of all races called the Pepper Street gang. They threw rocks at cars and houses got into fights. Basically they just got into a lot of trouble. But a priest helped Jackie out of

Jackie was the first person in UCLA history to get varsity letters in four sports. Jackie was going to school at Pasadena Junior college until his brother Frank died. Out of all his brothers he felt closest to Frank so he transferred to UCLA to be closer to Frank’s family. Jackie confused them with his moves on the basketball court leading his team in scoring. Also he amazed them with his speed and hops in track and field. He won the 1940 NCAA Men’s outdoor track and field competition in the long jump. Jumping 24 feet 10 and a half inches. But he mesmerized the defense with his moves on the football field. He was the nation’s leading rusher and punt return yards. Last he broke there eardrums with the crack of his bat in baseball at PasadenaJunior college then did terrible at UCLA. He batted 0.97 but went 4-for-4 and stole home twice in his first game. Jackie was a great player with good sportsmanship. As Jackie was in his senior year at UCLA he dropped out to help support his family and became an athletic director. After that he played for the semi pro Honolulu Bears football team. He left to go home on vacation but three days after he got home Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and he was drafted into the army.

When he was in the army he was sitting on a bus with one of his private’s wife. She was light skinned but black. The driver of the bus didn’t like it and thought the girl was white so the driver told Jackie to go to the back of the bus but he didn’t because you didn’t have to in the army. The driver pressed charges on Jackie but they were overruled and Jackie was honorably discharged from the army. After Jackie was honorably discharged from the army Jackie started wondering what he should do for a living. Then he thought I'll play baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs. He wanted to do this because he liked baseball the best out of all the sports he had played and he had been playing baseball his whole life. When he was playing for the Monarchs conditions were tough. The team had to eat and sleep on the same bus in most towns because the owners wouldn’t let blacks eat in the town’s restaurants or sleep in the town’s hotels. Then came the time when Jackie went into the major leagues. People called him every mean they could think of. The crowd threw trash at him and even put a black cat on the field. You probably know how people were superstitious about black cats so they wanted to be mean to Jackie. They made it seem that it was bad for a black person to walk by on to the field like a black cat.

Jackie admired Martin Luther King Junior who believed in nonviolence because he had such moving speeches. About how blacks were equal to whites and whites are only equal to blacks. After Jackie had finished baseball he went and started giving political speeches. Jackie would go around and protest like every body else. But he wasn’t like everybody else. Jackie didn't agree with Martin Luther King Junior because Jackie had a fiery streak. Also there was Malcolm X. Jackie admired him because he had the drive. Also Malcolm X believed in a lot of violent actions. He made the whites believed blacks were just as good. Which Jackie liked. But Jackie only believed in a small amount of violence. Jackie sometimes sided with Martin Luther King Junior and sometimes with Malcolm X. Jackie helped the rights of blacks but he didn’t he got a lot more people to join.

So now you know as much as I know. Well at least about Jackie Robinson. Even though I just taught you a lot you can never stop learning. Jackie had mentors that helped him through his life and they really helped him to be the best he could be.

I think Jackie was a great man. He had an outstanding amount of perseverance. He survived all the jeers, trash and yells. I feel Jackie has a special place in my heart because all the things he went through. It makes me realize how easy my life is compared to his life. I think Jackie was one of the greatest men I have ever learned about.

By

Henry