Kesha Farrington
Wilbraham
English 070
February 25, 2015

Compare and Contrast Essay Major League Baseball Greatest Two of the world’s greatest baseball players were Jackie Robinson, and Babe Ruth. Both of the men established a career in a game they both truly loved. Jackie Robinson, and Babe Ruth have accomplishments that will remain a part of life’s history in the spirt of baseball. However both are known as baseball legends, they offer their differences and similarities amongst not only by their careers but by their personal lives. Throughout my essay I will explore their history and career also what makes them legends that they are today. Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. Robinson was the youngest of five siblings. Jackie attended Washington Junior High School, and enrolled at John Muir High School, recognizing his talents Jackie oldest brother Frank inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in sports. In 1936 Robinson won the junior boys championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament, earned a place on the Pomona annual baseball tournament All Star Team. After attending Muir High School, Robinson went on to Pasadena Junior College where he continued his athletic career. Toward the end of Robinson’s term, Frank Robinson, Jackie’s oldest brother whom he felt closest was killed in a motorcycle accident. The incident motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at a nearby college known as UCLA, where Robinson felt close to his eldest brother’s family. After graduating Pasadena Junior College, Robinson transferred to UCLA and became the school’s first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.
Unlike Robinson, Babe Ruth was born at 216 Emory Street, in Pigtown, a rough neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. At a very young age Babe Ruth was sent to an orphanage called, St. MaryIndustrial School for boys. Ruth began to seek outside attention drinking beer when his father wasn’t around, after a violent incident at Ruth father’s saloon, the city authorities decided that the environment wasn’t suitable for children so Babe Ruth was sent back to St. Mary’s where Ruth resided for 12 years. Even though the children at St. Mary’s received education most of Babe Ruth time there was devoted to work. Ruth became a shirt maker and was also known as a carpenter. Ruth nickname there was “Niggerlips,” because he had large facial features and was darker than most boys at the white reformatory. While living in the reformatory Ruth admired, Reverend Matthias who was greatly respected by the boys both for his strength and for his fairness that he displayed toward the young boys there at the reformatory considering that Matthias was in charge of making the boy behave, and Ruth was one of the great natural misbehaviors of all time. On the other hand most of the boys at St. Mary’s played baseball with organized leagues at different levels, Ruth played 200 games a year as he begin to climb the ladder of success. However Jackie Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army Cavalry Unit in Fort Riley, Kansas in 1942. While there Robinson met a former player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, who encouraged Jackie to write the Monarch for tryouts, Jackie took his advise and wrote the co-owner, Thomas Baird. In 1945 while Jackie was at Sam Huston College, the Kansas City Monarchs respond back to Jackie offering him to play professional baseball in the Negro leagues, during the season, Robinson became more interested in Major League. The Boston Red Sox held tryouts at Fenway Park for Robinson and other black players on April 16. Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subject to racial abuse, Jackie left the tryouts feeling humiliated and more than 14 years later, in July 1959, the Red Sox became the last major league team to integrate blacks into their roster. Jackie Robinson played for various teams, other teams however had more serious interest in signing a black ball player. In the mid 1940’s Club President and General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began scouting Negro League for addition to the Dodgers roster. Branch Ricky selected Jackie Robinson from a list of black players, in addition Ricky was especially interested in making sure eventual signee could deal with the inevitable racial abuse that would be directed at him. Although Rickey wanted to keep secret for signing Jackie for a time being Jackie Robinson was finally hired and signed with the Dodgers on November 1, 1945, but on October 23, 1945 it was publicly announced. Jackie Robinson went from the Negro league to the minor league in 1946 to the major league in 1947. On the other hand, Babe Ruth career in baseball wasn’t as difficult as Jackie Robinson. Babe Ruth played for the major league for the Boston Red Sox 1914-1919. Although predicted that Ruth would beg to return to pitching the first time he experienced a batting slumps. Babe Ruth was an all time great. Ruth’s transition from a pitcher to a power hitting outfielder became complete. In his fifteen year Yankee career, playing over 2000 games. Ruth broke many batting records while making five appearances on the mound, winning them all.
Babe Ruth made it possible for baseball to be what it is today. His home run hitting exploits, far beyond any other player at the time he started. Babe Ruth changed the game and created incredible popularity. Jackie Robinson, while an amazing player will be remembered for breaking the color barrier, allowing baseball to enter the modern age. Many argue that this also had an effect on America as a whole, helping pave the way for the civil rights movement.
Robinson was a man of great decency and his demeanor while taking racist abuse during his early years is one of the reasons baseball was able to fully integrate.

Kesha Farrington