Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31 1919 as the youngest of five siblings. In 1947 he became the first black man to play in the MLB as a shortstop for the Brooklyn dodgers. Before Robinson African Americans were only allowed to play in "Negro Leagues." During his time with the dodgers he played in six different world series and was invited to six all-star games. Robinson died on October 24 1972

         Jackie Robinson, in my opinion is one of the most important people in recent history for both the civil rights movement and baseball.
          As a baseball player Jackie won many awards. He won rookie of the year in 1947, had the most stolen bases in 1947 and 1949, had the most second basemen double plays in 1949,50,51 and 52. He had the highest batting average in 1949 at .311 and In 1949 he was the national league MVP. He was also on the all star team six times in a row.
         I think that white america was more open to a black player because he was such a great player. If he had been a worse player I think it would have taken a much longer time to de-segregate professorial sports.
        After his baseball career he kept doing things for the black community that have never been done before. He was the first black sports telecaster. He was also the general manager of the Brooklyn dodgers of the Continental football league. He also became the first black man to be the vice president of a major cooperation (Chock fill o'nuts)
         He not only opened the door for black people to play baseball but also many other successful careers.