Table of ContentsIntroductionImpact on the WorldConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionJackie Robinson was an important and influential figure in history who had a positive impact on American sports as a whole because he challenged racism. Jackie Robinson is widely known as the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956 and showed great talent. “I don't care if I like you or don't like you… All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” a famous quote by Robinson meaning that he doesn't want people to treat him as less human because he is African American. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 on a plantation in Cairo, Georgia. Her mother, Mallie Robinson, moved Jackie's family to California. In high school Jackie played football, basketball, baseball and track. Robinson was attending college, but dropped out shortly before graduation because he had been drafted into the Army. While in the Army, he faced segregation and racism from his white comrades. Robinson became a second lieutenant after much trouble getting into officer candidate school. Later in Robinson's career, he was court-martialed for refusing to sit in the back of a bus, but was later acquitted. Jackie Robinson was inspired to play baseball by one of his brothers, Matthew Robinson. Robinson debuted in the Negro leagues and played only one season before being brought up to the major leagues. One of the biggest accomplishments under his belt was how well he performed despite all the hate he received. Robinson wasn't even allowed to play for a while because the police threatened to cancel games and many training facilities wouldn't let him use them. Robinson was also subjected to racism from his own team, some of whom refused to play him despite his excellent performance. Things settled down when Robinson's manager gave a speech and said he would trade them if they didn't play Robinson. Robinson was also booed and insulted by the games crowd and even sent death threats. Opposing teams also played him hard by throwing shots at him. He was hit by the most shots in any of his seasons, having been hit by a total of 72 shots in his entire career. Despite all this hate, Robinson controlled himself and earned the respect of fans and other players. Arguably the most significant accomplishment Robinson achieved was breaking the color barrier in MLB. Before Robinson's debut in April 1947 there were only white males in the Major Leagues. Jackie Robinson inspired many great African American players to play for the MLB such as Larry Doby, Willard Brown and Monte Irvin, all of whom were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Although all of these players were not well received at first, they all became well respected within the baseball and African American communities. Another well-known achievement of Robinson was how good he was at his sport. Jackie Robinson was a legendary baseball player not only because he was African American. While Jackie was in the major leagues he hit 137 home runs, had 1518 hits, had a BA of .331, an RBI of 734 and 197 stolen bases, amazing overall statistics. Some people even claimed he had skills that rivaled Babe Ruth. Robinson was so skilled that even if he played today he would still be among the best. Impact on the worldJackie