Turning Point in History
At the time that Branch Rickey was president of the Brooklyn Dodgers and he wanted Jackie Robinson to play for his team although they were all whites. Jackie Robinson started off playing for the Dodgers Farm team the Montreal Royals in Florida at first base . His first game was April 15, 1947 on Ebbets Field. Jackie Robinson struggled with people hating on him now that he was playing with whites. His teammates and occasionally fans in the stand hated that he was playing and did not want to play with an African American. His family would even receive threats but Branch Rickey told Jackie to ignore the racism and fight it as best and he can. Jackie Robinson was surely put to the test. Courtesy of Wbez.org While on the royals Jackie Robinson led the league with a .349 batting average and a .985 fielding percentage. The Philadelphia Phillies were awful to Jackie Robinson and their manager Ben Chapman was also. During one infamous game, Chapman and his team shouted derogatory terms at Robinson from their dugout because they hated like most people how he was playing in the major leagues.
Although Jackie Robinson was fantastic, people were hating on him every day. Many people on the Dodgers said they would not play and the manager said that he would trade them to other teams if they didn’t. Some teammates supported him like Pee Wee Reese who was the shortstop and captain of the team. In Jackie Robinson’s first year, he hit 12 home runs and helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant. That same year, Jackie Robinson led the National League in stolen bases and was selected as Rookie of the Year. In 1949 Robinson also received the Most Valuable Player Award which was fantastic. Throughout the history of the Dodgers he was the highest-paid athlete for them and in his entire career he stole home base nineteen times and that is outstanding. Jackie Robinson began to call out teams that were racist and would not break the color barrier. One team he called out was the Yankees and he said this all publicly. One of the best achievements he helped the Dodgers get was a win in the World Series and they had beaten the Yankees. Jackie Robinson was the voice of African American players and his talents made people realize that African Americans could actually help their teams. Jackie Robinson had helped the Dodgers win many National League pennants.
"The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time." -Jackie Robinson