A Stand up Guy

A Stand Up Guy

Baseball was invented here in the United States and has grown in popularity,and now we refer to it as America's Pastime. For such a long time black athletes were not permitted to play in major league baseball. Is it honestly fair to say that Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player to live, since no black athletes were allowed to play at his time? Since black athletes were not permitted to play in the MLB, they had regulated there own leagues the Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson was the first black athlete to play in major league baseball, in 1946 when he broke the color barrier. Jackie Robinson has done a lot of great things in life that people overlook, by serving his country in the army, graduating from UCLA, and being a great athlete. Jackie Robinson was the best choice to break the color barrier in baseball.

Jackie Robinson was one of the best athletes of all time, being the first ever to letter in all 4 sports at UCLA. He lettered in track, football, baseball, and basketball. in 1941 Jackie had left college to join the army. He then was court marshalaed in 1941 for sticking up for himself when a bus driver on an army base told him to go to the back of the bus. Jackie had sat there in front of the bus and refused to move to the back of the bus, he believed that the bus drivers shouldn't be racist in the army so he sat there. This may have been the best thing for him since he met one of the players from the Kansas City Monarchs.

In 1945 Jackie started his baseball career by signing with Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues. Although it was not until 1946 that he broke the color barrier he did have a tryout with the Boston Braves in 1943. Jackie was not the only black athlete trying out, there were two other black baseball players. The two players that tried out were outfielder Sam Jethroe, and Marvin Williams. After trying out for the team reporters that were there said that they were alright, pretty good, and hard to tell. Even though the reporters knew these athletes were great they did not want to give recognition to these black athletes.

In 1945 the owner of the Brooklyn Dodger Branch Rickey began to scout black baseball players. In August of 1945 was when Jackie Robinson was approached one of Rickey's scouts Clyde Sukeforth had told him that " the brown dodgers, were looking for top ball players."