On Saturday April 14th, I went to see the movie 42 with my dad and friend.  It was about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in sports.  Here is the trailer and some posters for the movie if you do not know what it is about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9RHqdZDCF0

               In this movie Jackie Robinson endured almost as much pain as someone possibly could, just to play the game he loved, and so other African Americans could also play in the near future.  He had to deal with people threatening to kill him if he showed up to a ballpark, teammates wanting to be traded because they didn’t want to play with him, and being kicked out of the ballpark by a cop.  As a Little Leaguer, I have never had to deal with this type of discrimination.  I have, and always will have teammates of different races, and there is no reason that we all cannot play baseball together.

               Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier not just for himself or baseball, but for all African Americans in the United States.  When he played with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he didn’t just break the color barrier in baseball, he broke it throughout America.  Whites all over America started to accept African Americans into their daily life: work, public places, schools, etc.; however, we as Americans have a ways to go in fully accepting all people.

Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson

(1919-1972)

Career Highlights:

• 1947 MLB Rookie of the Year
• 1949 NL MVP
• 1949 Batting Champion
• 6 time All-Star
• Jersey number “42” is retired by every MLB team
• All-Century Team
• Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Actor: Chadwick Boseman

               Jackie Robinson was a hero and inspiration in the eyes of all Americans.  He broke the color barrier that let all African Americans join and do activities with Caucasians.  Jackie was an all around athlete in college at UCLA.  He played baseball, football,  basketball and track.  After college, he entered the military for WWII.  When he returned, he played football in L.A., and in 1945 he signed a contract with the Kansas City Monarchs to play baseball.  After that season, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie to a contract.  He spent his first year in the Independent League with the Montreal Royals.  In 1946 he was signed by the Dodgers.  He won Rookie of the Year that season and NL MVP in 1949.  After Jackie retired, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  He worked for ABC Sports, and his number “42” was retired by every major league team in baseball.

Branch Rickey

(1881-1965)

Career Achievements:

• Major part in developing minor league system
• Broke the color barrier for African Americans and Latinos
• Created batting helmet
• Inducted in National Baseball Hall of Fame

Actor: Harrison Ford

               Branch Rickey made an enormous impact on major league baseball.  Mr. Rickey accomplished many important achievements in his career, like creating the batting helmet, being inducted into the hall of fame, and developing the minor league systems.  However, his most important accomplishment was breaking the color barrier for African Americans and Latinos, by signing contracts with Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente.  If Mr. Rickey had never done this, baseball might still be divided by race.  Thankfully, Branch Rickey was an innovator of America and knew the value of each individual, regardless of their skin color.