The Truth on Jackie Robinson
Negro’s have been trying to mount
the athletic ranks of professional sports for many years, in fact dating as far
back as the 1800’s. For example, by 1860 there was a pool of black
amateur baseball teams competing against one another with the hopefulness of
hope to one day leap the giant hurdle set before them and the spirited gumption
that they were every bit as good as the common pro baseball team (Library of
Congress, n.d.). “The world would forever be affected!” On April 15, 1947, a
distinctive star was born, as a brilliantly gleaming tinted light to guide the
way for those of the sports world who would dare to follow. Ancients of many
cultures have believed that stars were placed in the sky above to pilot the way
to our destiny. Jackie Robinson was that star, a contrasting torch which casted
color into a lucent ocean of white.
Jackie Robinson appearing as the
first African-American professional baseballplayer was a day that most
certainly went down as a historic occasion. Jackie “the Colored comet” swung
his way through the thick blanched wall of seclusion. Actually, it was Branch
Rickey, the Dodger president, who made it all possible. By
giving Robinson the official go ahead nod (signing him to a contract), it
paved the way for what would become one of the greatest multiracial sports of
the world. On this heroic day, for some, it was a major accomplishment; however
for others it was a devastating debacle. Jackie Robinson took the field
debuting for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Boston Braves. The number in
attendance of fans brewing with a distasteful sense of skepticism were 25,623,
which was nowhere near the buildings capacity. This signified that this event
wasn’t the most admired spectacle in town.
As Robinson stepped up to bat, I
could have only imaged the thought that must have repeatedly dashed through
Jackie’s mind and the paralytic force of doubt that must have gripped his body
as jeering fans spewed brutal and vulgar remarks, as well as the notion that
not even his own teammates embraced him. Peering out across the battlefield at
what appeared to be an ambush by the forward facing opponents on the hilly
mound and the treachery of friendly fire, while Robinson stood at home base the
forest of baseball fans surrounding him provided no concealment from the
element and harsh environment that engulfed him. Jackie Robinson stood
valiantly as a warrior with sword and shield in hand ready to combat the
assault that would be launched at him from the rifleman firing off fierce white
cannon’s, which appeared to be laced with blood.
The leagues players had not yet
approved of an African-American infiltrating their sport. Also it would have
been a travesty to have a Negro smash a ball out of the stadium for a homer. So
in an attempt to commit an in game prohibition, the pitcher of the Boston
Braves would not pitch a hittable ball to Jacko. As a result, Robinson was able
to impact the game without even making one hit on the baseball during that game
and thus concluding a win for his Brooklyn team. Who would have ever thought
that the son of a sharecropper would make such a significant impact that would
not only affect baseball, but the sports world at large in such an enormous
manner.
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