“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” This quote said by Jackie Robinson explains his hardships as he went through his career in the baseball leagues. Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player who overcame racism and diversity. In my speech I’m going to talk about the accomplishments and the hardships that Robinson has gone through in his baseball career.
The way Jackie grew up is how he was shaped for his future, determined and hard headed. Robinson was born January 31st, 1919, in Georgia into a family with four older siblings and a single mom. He went to John Muir High School where he played four sports, football, baseball, basketball, and track. His brother was Robinson’s inspiration to play sports and the reason he became an athlete. Robinson continued playing all four sports at UCLA. He was the 1st athlete to letter in 4 sports at UCLA. After Jackie left college because of financial reasons, he enlisted in the army where he served for 2 year. Jackierobinson.org stated that he eventually got kicked out because he was arrested for not moving to the back of the bus. Being so athletic in high school and college led him to his memorable baseball career.
Jackie was memorable for many reasons. It all started when he was inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers by Branch Rickey. Robinson became well known for being the first African American to play in the Major leagues since it was unusual for a black to play with whites during the time of segregation. He was also memorable for his phenomenal baseball playing. Robinson set a league record for stealing 19 bases (according to biography.com). He won many awards, including Rookie of the year in 1947, National league’s MVP in 1949, and also was the first African American inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Lastly, Robinson let his team to be World Series Champions in 1995. This is all according to biography.com. Now that I’ve told you about his accomplishments I will talk about what he has to overcome to reach those accomplishments.
There were many things that Robinson had to overcome. Whenever you hear the name Jackie Robinson, most people will think of the amazing and talented baseball player. But not many people know the hardships that he went through. Robinson was harassed for being a black player in the Major leagues. He and his family would