Effa Manley Annotated Bibliography

Mamie (peanut) Johnson “Life...wrapped up in that three inch universe of twine and leather.” (Mamie Johnson) Mamie lived baseball, from only a few years old until she was 82. She learned how to play baseball growing up with her uncle and later had many great accomplishments playing.

A Look into the Life of Ernie Banks In 1953, a young man stepped out onto Wrigley Field for his first game in the major league, setting into motion an extensive career of record-breaking playing that would eventually earn him a legendary name in the history of baseball. This man, Ernie Banks, dazzled fans with his infectious optimism and unparalleled skill. His determination and sunny disposition brought him numerous seasons of remarkable success in his sport. As the first to integrate his major league team, he paved the way for racial integration throughout the entire league. Banks left a legacy in the world of baseball that no one could ever forget.

Over America’s history, baseball has become one of America’s favorite sports. During the development of the sport, only a few people were allowed to play. Since segregation was still occurring in the USA, only whites were allowed in the Major Leagues, where the best baseball players went to play on a team, in the beginning. Because of this, African Americans decided to build their own league known as the Negro National Leagues. People like Andrew “Rube” Foster, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, and James “Cool Papa”

There have been many people who have fought against racism and discrimination, ranging from Rosa Parks, a factory worker, to Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister. One person who has been overlooked for his effect against racism is Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball player. Jackie Robinson is known for breaking the color barrier in baseball, however he should be credited for his effect on changing society’s view of African Americans. Robinson had always been a fighter against racism, and baseball only made him a more influential figure.

(Of course though Jackie Robinson was the first African American to join a major league baseball team after integration). Walker was best known for being the bare handed pitcher. Walker was the first African American to join the Major Leagues by his team joining the American Association. George Stovey was the first best African American pitcher that was ever documented. Stovey even played for some white teams as their pitcher and that was not very heard of at that time.

“It also was the beginning of the end of the Negro League; the league in which Jackie Robinson got his start” (Pri.org). Before Robinson was asked to play in the Major Leagues many sports were segregated by the color of people’s skin. His transition from the Negro League to the Major League put an end to segregation in many sports across the country. Throughout his baseball career, Jackie Robinson had numerous groundbreaking

There was a considerable measure of isolation and bigotry in the United States amid the 1940's and 1950's. African Americans were dealt with unjustifiably, they weren't permitted to do anything with white individuals. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to have the capacity to play in the MLB. Jackie changed baseball and the MLB by breaking the shading boundary and demonstrated everybody that he was the same than a white individual. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was conceived in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a group of tenant farmers.

While having the world against him, Robinson managed to still overcome his obstacles and proved he was worthy of playing in America’s national pastime. He not only stumped the nation, but “He criticized the slow pace of baseball integration and objected to the Jim Crow practices in the Southern states where most clubs held spring training’’ (Staff). This is how Robinson now not only made revelations in sports, but in the nation as well. He showed he had the ability to be as skilled as any other citizen in baseball, now he can show that the entire African-American culture can do the same in other aspects of the world as well.

At this time in history, black players were still not allowed to play in Major League Baseball (“Jackie Robinson”). Although the negro leagues contained some of the best baseball players, the conditions were awful. To earn money at all, they had to play numerous games within a single day. They were forced to travel in incredibly cramped and hot buses. They were restricted from most restaurants so they often obtained meals by waiting at the kitchen door to be fed leftovers and scraps.

In the movie “A League of Their Own”, one can see how the more sexist views of the culture in the 1940s and 50s in America was present in the Girls Professional Baseball League. “A League of Their Own” is a movie about what was once the “All-American Girls Professional Baseball League” which was formed when the young men were sent over to serve in World War II. One of the most obvious cultural views that this movie shows is the feminizing of the baseball players to make them “more acceptable and women like”. Unlike men’s uniforms, that include a full shirt and pants, they were to wear skirts that were very short, too short to play baseball in comfortably. This alone shows how this league was just as much about show as it was about the women’s talent.

There are few constants in baseball, it’s a game unlike any other where a fraction of a second or a break in a wind gust can alter the game severely. Each ballpark is unique in it’s architecture, whether punctuated by a crooked outfield wall or a risking interference every pitch by having the bullpen in foul territory, baseball diamonds has as colourful a personality as the men which play upon it. Yet, there is one constant in every stadium; a placard with simply ‘42’ written upon it, overlooking the diamond as if it were a guardian angel on the shoulder of a baseball God. This number belonged to the most important man in baseball history: Jackie Robinson. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play Major League Baseball

Throughout his baseball career, Jackie Robinson combated and disarmed antagonists of all kinds with an unflappable demeanor and preternatural inner resolve. My favorite example of his delicate balance between outward poise and inner tenaciousness lies in his encounters with Phillies manager Ben Chapman, who resorted to using malicious racial epithets and instructing his pitchers to purposely throw harmful balls at Jackie Robinson. In a game against Chapman’s team in 1947, Robinson responded by scoring the sole run in the Dodgers’ 1-0 victory. For Robinson, vindication came in the form of tangible results. His resolve and success in the face of contempt, bigotry, and harassment serves as an eternal example for students like myself who seek to

Civil rights was an important American social movement throughout the late 40s to the 60s. There was once a time where African Americans and whites used separate bathrooms, separate drinking fountains and sat on separate spots on the bus. They also played on separate baseball teams. During this time period Baseball was “America’s Pastime, “and a major social get together for white and black Americans (Kenny 2013). In 1947 both of these American social aspects collided turbulently, when the Brooklyn Dodgers gave Jackie Robinson a chance to play professional baseball.

During Jackie Robinson’s impactful years of baseball, he carried the weight of discrimination and prejudice on his shoulders. For example, Jaime C. Harris states, “And maybe, just maybe, the significance of the moment will now reverberate as loudly as Jackie’s soul did when he heard the cries of "n*****" and "monkey" from the malicious mouths assembled on April 15, 1947, to deride his every action.” Despite cries of racial slurs from the mouths of spectators, Jackie Robinson forever changed the diversity we see in baseball today as he was the first black person to ever step foot on an MLB diamond. Discrimination and prejudice throughout the 1900s in the MLB wasn’t only directed towards blacks. Hispanics were also apart of the bias times in Major League Baseball.

Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play baseball in the majors. Jackie Robinson had many obstacles to get through to get to the majors and to stay on the team. He had to stay calm when people would constantly call him a “negro”, “nigger” and other harsh racist words. Not only did he have to not lash out when people would call him names, he also had to not lash out when the Brooklyn Dodgers weren't allowed to stay in a hotel because a “nigger” was on their team. Along with being called names, and not being allowed to stay in a hotel, Robinson also received death threats stating “Robinson we will kill you if you attempt to enter a ball game at Crosley field.”