Today when you attend major sporting events, the field or court is filled with black athletes. It wasn’t always this way. It took a lot of hard work and dedication for these athletes to be able to get on the field or court. A few key people helped shape our sports into what they are today.
Jesse Owens the son of a sharecropper was born in September of 1913 in Alabama. He was born into a poor family, with slaves for his grandparents. Jesse was sick a lot as a kid with pneumonia and bronchitis. Even though he was a sickly child. He had to learn to work hard at a young age. At the age of seven, Jesse picked one hundred pounds of cotton a day to help provide food for his family, during the Great Depression.
In high school, Owens quickly became …show more content…
He was born into a family of five children, and was raised by a single mother. Jackie’s family was pretty poor and he lived in poverty during his childhood, amidst the Great Depression. Jackie played four sports during high school and at a junior college as well. He excelled at all the sports he played including, football, basketball, track, and baseball. Jackie Robinson was named the region’s most valuable player in baseball in 1938.
Jackie later continued his education at UCLA where he became the first student to win varsity letters in four sports. Jackie Robinson wasn’t able to finish his schooling at UCLA and was forced to leave just before his graduation due to financial difficulties. Jackie then moved to Hawaii where he played semi-professional football for the Honolulu Bears. Jackie’s season with the Bears was cut short when the United States entered World War II.
Jackie served as a second lieutenant in the Army. In 1944 Jackie attended boot camp in Fort Hood, Texas. When Jackie refused to move to the back of a segregated bus at boot camp he was thrown in jail and sent to court. With the help and support from friends and the publicity from black newspapers, he was honorably discharged from the …show more content…
Jackie was doing good in the negro league and the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers Branch Rickey took notice, and asked Jackie to join the team. Jackie Robinson broke the streak of an all white league for over 60 years on April 15, 1947. Wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, Jackie was the first African American baseball player to take the field of a major league game. Jackie was named rookie of the year in 1947, National League MVP in 1949, and a World Series Champ in 1955. Baseball wasn’t the only professional sport beginning to recognize the talents of black athletes.
On October 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd broke history becoming the first African American to play in an NBA game. He was born in 1928 in Alexandria, Virginia. His father worked in a coal yard and his mother was a domestic worker. Earl played at a segregated high school and then went on to play basketball at West Virginia
Jesse Owens the son of a sharecropper was born in September of 1913 in Alabama. He was born into a poor family, with slaves for his grandparents. Jesse was sick a lot as a kid with pneumonia and bronchitis. Even though he was a sickly child. He had to learn to work hard at a young age. At the age of seven, Jesse picked one hundred pounds of cotton a day to help provide food for his family, during the Great Depression.
In high school, Owens quickly became …show more content…
He was born into a family of five children, and was raised by a single mother. Jackie’s family was pretty poor and he lived in poverty during his childhood, amidst the Great Depression. Jackie played four sports during high school and at a junior college as well. He excelled at all the sports he played including, football, basketball, track, and baseball. Jackie Robinson was named the region’s most valuable player in baseball in 1938.
Jackie later continued his education at UCLA where he became the first student to win varsity letters in four sports. Jackie Robinson wasn’t able to finish his schooling at UCLA and was forced to leave just before his graduation due to financial difficulties. Jackie then moved to Hawaii where he played semi-professional football for the Honolulu Bears. Jackie’s season with the Bears was cut short when the United States entered World War II.
Jackie served as a second lieutenant in the Army. In 1944 Jackie attended boot camp in Fort Hood, Texas. When Jackie refused to move to the back of a segregated bus at boot camp he was thrown in jail and sent to court. With the help and support from friends and the publicity from black newspapers, he was honorably discharged from the …show more content…
Jackie was doing good in the negro league and the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers Branch Rickey took notice, and asked Jackie to join the team. Jackie Robinson broke the streak of an all white league for over 60 years on April 15, 1947. Wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, Jackie was the first African American baseball player to take the field of a major league game. Jackie was named rookie of the year in 1947, National League MVP in 1949, and a World Series Champ in 1955. Baseball wasn’t the only professional sport beginning to recognize the talents of black athletes.
On October 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd broke history becoming the first African American to play in an NBA game. He was born in 1928 in Alexandria, Virginia. His father worked in a coal yard and his mother was a domestic worker. Earl played at a segregated high school and then went on to play basketball at West Virginia