Austin Bollinger

Dr. J

Sports Media and Pop Culture

October 17, 2017

Historical Reflection Essay

During the mid 1900’s, in America, baseball heavily influenced aspects of

American society. For this reason and many more, baseball is to be considered

America's greatest pastime. The American culture and society was greatly influenced by

baseball, because it was a major event for a family to be able to go to a game and

cheer on their’ favorite team. As a father, one thing many look forward too when

becoming a parent is teaching your son or daughter to swing their’ first baseball bat or

taking them to their’ first major league game. In 1947, baseball changed from how the

world once knew it. The first Negro baseball player, Jackie Robinson, took his spot at

first base, for the very first time, the world was shocked at this sight. Many fans were

furious, outraged that this was even a possibility, but Jackie took the field in a day and

age when racial segregation was taken very seriously in America. In 1947, Jackie

Robinson changed the game of baseball for all of America, by promoting the idea of

racial equality throughout the United States.

Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. “He attended

UCLA, where he became the first athlete to letter in four varsity sports: baseball,

basketball, football and track” (History.com). After finishing college, Jackie, went on to

play shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League. After showcasing

many of his talents on the diamond, and showing his one of a kind character, he was
then recruited by the Brooklyn Dodgers by president/general manager Branch Rickey in

1945. Branch Rickey’s goal was to hopefully end the unwritten rule of segregation

between the blacks and the whites, in Major League Baseball. During this time period is

was strongly forbidden for colored individuals to play in the same league as white

individuals. Before getting called up, Jackie played two seasons with the Dodgers farm

club and led the team in batting averages over those two years. In 1947, baseball talent

Jackie Robinson made his major league debut at age 28 in front of more than 25,000

spectators. The majority of these spectators and fans rejected Jackie with vulgar

language. Now looking back, it seems as if this happened in an entirely different

country.

It seems to be almost made clear that Jackie had perfectly fit the requirements

that Branch Rickey had in mind. Mr Ricky wanted an individual that was mentally strong,

independent, intelligent, and was used to working with or competing against white

individuals. Jackie had many experiences in many instances, he attended UCLA college

where he attended classes with many white students. He was also an officer in the

military where he competed to increase his rank as a soldier. All of Jackie’s life, all of his

experiences seem to have led him for this moment as an American hero. I feel as if it

was his destiny to be this hero for so many people, not just during his time but in the

future. So many people continue to look up to this man, his bravery to stand against all

odds and social norms inspires everyone, every day.

Jackie Robinson not only broke records and helped his team win games, he

changed all of baseball in America forever. Before April 15, 1947 there had been more

than 60 years of racial segregation in Major League Baseball. Robinson was the key to
open the door, he was the hero of their time. Robinson had broken the color barrier/line

that was present in baseball during this time. (Lamb) Jackie had greatly broadened the

Dodgers fan base, many African Americans began to look at Jackie as a hero. By

allowing Jackie to play for the organization they drew entirely new crowds to the games.

The amount of attention “or should we say media” they received only helped grow their

entire ball club. Many individuals began to support the Dodgers, for being the first to

take a step towards racial integration or known as racial equality. Robinson's “success

in the major leagues opened the door for many African-American players, such as

Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron” (Bio.com). He was not a mediocre player,

he broke records, “Robinson stole home 19 times in his career, setting a league record”

(Bio.com). Not only was he a record setter, but Jackie went on to become the first

African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ten years after being

inducted into the Hall of Fame the Dodgers then retired his uniform, No. 42. Later on

down the road all of Major League Baseball retired No. 42, officially making the 15th of

April Jackie Robinson Day. In his honor, Jackie Robinson Day, is day that every player,

and many fans wear the number 42 jersey.

The number 42 now has a much deeper meaning than just a number. This

number symbolizes racial equality, it symbolizes a hero. One man had the courage to

stand before them all, through the good and the bad Jackie was able to take it. In my

opinion, I believe Jackie was the first to truly show America that our athletes have more

power, more influence then we could imagine. Jackie, only being a baseball player was

able to bring so many people together during a time period where people weren’t as

open minded as they are now in the twenty first century. That being said, if Jackie could
accomplish what he did during that time period just imagine what could be done now in

this day and age, where sports are only becoming more and more crucial to American

culture. According to Kennedy and Hills sports have the ability to contribute to who we

are as people. In our country sports are such a huge deal, the way we televise games,

and or promote games. Sports have this ability to contribute to our personal identity

formation. (pg 4) This happens due to our love and passion for the game/games that we

love so much, we let this sometimes dictate our lives.

Throughout Jackie’s career he not only shined light on the idea for other African

Americans to join the MLB, but he ultimately opened the door to racial equality. Almost

twenty years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson

were sowing the seeds of equality in the hearts of Americans” (History.com). After

accepting Robinson’s talent, and respecting him as a player America took one more

step closer to having equal civil rights. Believing that a white man, and a black man

could play together showed that one race was not superior to the other. In fact, many

people began to see that African American players, such as Jackie Robinson, could in

fact be better than some of the white players that filled all of Major League Baseball.

Many researchers and critics would say that if it was not for Jackie Robinson,

nationwide integration would not have happened for at least another decade.

Robinson may go down in history as one of the most influential individuals on

American Society. He promoted racial equality, and nationwide integration with a swing

of a bat. Just by competing with white players he gave hope to many fellow African

Americans, that would soon follow in his footsteps and go on to break records of their’

own. Many would say that the spark that Jackie gave, influenced many individuals to
take a second look at equal rights for everyone. Martin Luther King Jr wasn’t quiet to let

everyone know the role that Jackie had on ending racial segregation. MLK said “You'll

never know how easy you and Jackie [Robinson] and [Larry] Doby and Campy [Roy

Campanella] made it for me to do my job by what you did on the baseball field."(Perry). I

believe that Jackie was indeed the spark for it all. He was already beginning to change

the views of many Americans. That’s why I believe that MLK made the comment on how

he made his job so much easier. This was because MLK wasn’t the first person to do it.

Now of course MLK faced his fair share of death threats and hatred, but it was almost

as if Jackie did take some of the blow off of him. Jackie changed American society

because now blacks and whites are able to be united and play the game of baseball

together.

The Movie “42” by Brian Helgeland did a fantastic job at portraying what life was

like during this racial injustice time period. According to Richard Roeper, the film had

done a spectacular job at showing the disrespectful tension between Robinson and

other players and coaches. He mentions a specific scene when Robinson is at the plate,

when all of a sudden the Phillies manager Ben Chapman climbs out of the dugout

yelling the n-word repeatedly.(Roeper) The movie does a great job at showing the

anger, and sadness in Robinson’s eyes as he tries to focus on the at bat. I belive

scenes like these are what makes a film truly remarkable because you feel as if you

were there. On the other hand some films don’t do as well of a job at correctly

portraying society. According to Kennedy and Hills the film Rocky, “underplayed the

societal tension of both race and gender.” We see that these films have the ability to
bring us all together to understand just how important Jackie Robinson was to our

culture that we know of today.

 Works Cited

1. Admin. "The Role of Sports Upon the Civil Rights Movement." Sports in Black

and White. 16 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 May 2016.

2. Biography.com Editors. "Jackie Robinson." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television.

Web. 03 May 2016.

3. History.com Staff. "Jackie Robinson Breaks Major League Color

Barrier."History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 02 May 2016.

4. Perry, Dayn. "MLK's Telegram to Jackie Robinson." CBSSports.com. 21 Jan.

2013. Web. 08 May 2016.

5. Unknown. "How Jackie Robinson Changed the World ." How Jackie Robinson

Changed History -. Web. 04 May 2016.

6. Roeper, Richard. “42 Movie Review & Film Summary (2013) | Roger Ebert.”

RogerEbert.com, 11 Apr. 2013, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/42-2013.

7. Kennedy, Eileen, and Laura Hills. Sport, media and society. Berg, 2009.

8. Lamb, Christopher. “Jackie Robinson and the Press.” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Apr. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-

lamb/jackie-robinson_b_3038540.html.