Jackie Robinson

In my opinion, Jackie Robinson was the ultimate Black hero. The way he stood up and performed against diversity was like none ever before or after him. Jackie was an all around athlete. He was a star football, basketball, and baseball player, and it was said that baseball wasn't even his best sport. But when the Dodgers went looking for a negro player, he caught their eye, and it was not for his talent. Jackie was not even the best ball player in the negro leagues, but he had the tools necessary to make it in the MLB. A great all around player, Jackie could play multiple positions, hit for a very high average, and steal a ton of bases. But it was not his ball skills that attracted the eye of the Dodger organization so much. Off the field, Jackie Robinson was such a great guy. He was humble and quiet, and he could block out all of the racist remarks heard from everywhere he went. That takes a lot. Think about it, literally everywhere he went there were probably people saying things that should have just pissed him off. Most people did not want a black player in the MLB, and people were not afraid to say that, among other probably much worse things, to his face. Somehow, Jackie was able to not only tolerate it all and stay calm at the time, but he also continuously delivered on the baseball field. So most people hated him and they told him to his face, but he kept playing and playing well. That blows my mind that he could possibly put aside all of the comments and remarks and still perform. His mental toughness is out of this world.
On top of most people hating him and not agreeing with the fact that he was playing with the whites, ticket sales sky rocketed when Jackie joined the Dodgers. So EVERYONE came to watch him play. Every at bat, every play in the field, every breath Jackie took, thousands of eyes were staring at him, waiting for him to do something wrong or out of the ordinary. He never did. Not only did he never really do anything wrong, but with all eyes watching him intensely, he continued to perform at his best and win MVP awards and earn the respect of everyone in the game. Put anyone else in that type of adversity and let me know how they do. The way Jackie Robinson handled it is truly unbelievable.