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African American Impact on Sports

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African American Impact on Sports
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on others' lives." This quote was said by Jackie Robinson who was important in paving the way for other black athletes in professional sports. He was the first black baseball player to play in Major League Baseball.What would professional sports be without all the greatest black athletes such as Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali or Jackie Robinson? Today the NBA is filled with a large majority of African American players. The NBA would be nothing without those players. Muhammad Ali was a boxer, businessman and social activist for equal rights for all races. He wanted equal opportunities for all men, regardless of color, to be successful. Michael Jordan was considered the best basketball player of all time with five regular season Most Valuable Player awards along with three all-star MVPs. He had a huge impact on the sport, dominating it from the mid 80’s through the late 90’s. Professional sports and society would not be the same without them. African American athletes, including Jackie robinson, Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and others had a huge impact on American society and sports such as baseball, boxing, basketball and football. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. Throughout his 10 year long career he was constantly fighting for more rights for blacks in sports and society. Jackie was the first African American to play in Major League baseball. He was the youngest of five children who were raised in poverty by a single mother. Him and his family already had a hard life even aside from all the racism they faced living in the south in the early 1900’s. His older brother Matthew was one of his biggest inspirations for him to pursue his talent in athletics. Matthew won an olympic silver medal in the 1936 olympic games. After high school Jackie went to the University of California where he lettered in four different varsity sports. Before he could graduate he had


Bibliography: A+E Television Networks, LLC. "Jackie Robinson Biography." Biography. Accessed February 27, 2012. ———. "Muhammad Ali." Bio True Story. Accessed March 30, 2012. Last modified 2012. "African-American athletes influence on the world of sports." The Skyline View. Accessed April 27, 2012 The Gleaner. The Gleaner. Accessed March 2, 2012. Last modified February 14, 2011. Heaphy, Leslie A. The Negro Leagues. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1964. "Michael Jordan Biography." Bio True Story. Accessed April 27, 2012. Last modified 2012. Sports Reference LLC. "Jack Roosevelt Robinson ." Baseball Reference. Accessed February 27, 2012. "Top 75 Black Athletes and Pioneers of Sports Inclusion." Afro Golf. Accessed April 12, 2012.
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