BrainPOP
  • 4 months ago
Transcript
00:00Safe, were you even paying attention?
00:28She was out!
00:29That's got to be the worst call I've ever seen.
00:33Oh, huh, um, I guess she was safe then.
00:41Sorry about that, everybody!
00:45Dear Tim and Moby,
00:47Who was Jackie Robinson?
00:49From Jose.
00:51Jackie Robinson was one of the most famous baseball players of all time.
00:56He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956.
01:02He broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
01:07In the 19th century, the team owners decided they wanted Major League Baseball to be all
01:12white.
01:14Since they were banned from the majors, black players created the Negro Leagues,
01:19all-black professional baseball teams.
01:23Technically, there wasn't an official rule excluding African Americans.
01:28But the unofficial color barrier may as well have been a law.
01:32America was a segregated country back then.
01:35In many places, African Americans weren't allowed to mix with white people.
01:40They were treated like second-class citizens in pretty much every way.
01:45But after World War II, the Civil Rights Movement challenged the racist system,
01:50and attitudes slowly began to change.
01:53Yeah, it was about time.
01:57A man named Branch Rickey agreed.
02:00Rickey ran the Brooklyn Dodgers, a professional baseball team in New York City.
02:05Rickey had been personally opposed to segregation for a long time.
02:10He also realized that there were a ton of talented stars in the Negro Leagues.
02:15He knew these players could help the Dodgers win.
02:18In October 1945, he signed a 26-year-old infielder named Jackie Robinson.
02:26Robinson had gone to college at UCLA, where he'd been a star in four sports—
02:31baseball, basketball, football, and track.
02:36He was a great athlete, but that's not the only reason Rickey signed him.
02:40He knew Robinson's character would serve him well in the challenges to come.
02:45There was no doubt that he would face tremendous abuse from racist players and fans.
02:51Rickey believed Robinson had the strength to control his emotions and not respond to
02:56the insults.
02:58When Jackie took the field, baseball would become one of the first areas of American
03:01life to integrate.
03:04Schools, restaurants, and even the armed forces were still segregated.
03:10After a year in the minor leagues, Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Dodgers on
03:13April 15, 1947.
03:17Yeah, it was incredibly tough.
03:21Fans in other cities and even players on opposing teams would yell horrible, abusive things
03:27at him.
03:29Pitchers would try to hit him, and runners would spike him with their cleats.
03:33He even got death threats.
03:36But Jackie stayed calm and let his game do the talking.
03:41That year, he hit an impressive .297 batting average and scored 125 runs.
03:47He led the league in stolen bases and was named Rookie of the Year.
03:52Over the next few seasons, the Dodgers became the best team in the National League and Robinson
03:56became a superstar.
03:59People of all races admired his courage, and Dodgers fans loved his intensity, skill, and
04:04desire to win.
04:06The most exciting part of his game was his base running.
04:09His speed and daring on the base paths were legendary.
04:15You don't have to make the call.
04:16That game took place more than 50 years ago.
04:19Jackie Robinson retired from baseball in 1956 at age 37.
04:25By then, most teams had integrated.
04:27Ball players of all races were playing side by side.
04:31At the same time, the Civil Rights Movement was slowly ending segregation throughout America.
04:37And a new generation of African American stars, led by Willie Mays and Hank Aaron,
04:42was taking the baseball world by storm.
04:45Jackie Robinson became the first African American inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.
04:52He died in 1972 at the age of 53.
04:56In 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his debut, Major League Baseball honored Robinson.
05:03His number, 42, was permanently retired by every Major League team.
05:09No other baseball player has ever been honored in that way, before or since.
05:13No, I don't think being the first robot umpire will get you into the Hall of Fame.
05:21And this isn't exactly the majors.