a similar way as the Negro themselves...inferior. Although the talent and quality of baseball in the Negro leagues was extremely high, the conditions played in were exactly the opposite. Long rides in overly abused buses with no heating or air-conditioning, locker rooms were worn-down or nonexistent, and financial difficulties arose quite frequently due to such factors as renting the stadiums from white owners who charged exorbitant prices.# Baseball in the Negro leagues was no lap of luxury. Yet thousands of players endured the abuse to continue to play the game they loved. They played even though they did not receive one ounce of respect from the American public. It was not till Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947 that black players began to receive the respect they deserved.Jackie Robinson was not alone in changing the lives of every African-American in the United States of America. In 1942, a man named Branch Rickey stepped into the Dodgers head office with a plan for baseball and a plan for America. He had scouted many black players and decided the time was right for the “Great Experiment,” as it become known.# The only question was who would it be? Who would be the one that would change the way our society functioned then and now? The player had to be much more than an amazing athlete, capable of multiple feats on the baseball diamond. The player had to be one who had the strength and willpower to withstand the constant cruelty that was sure to occur. In 1945, Branch and Jackie sat down to discuss the miraculous feat. To change history, Branch said, “I’m looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back.” This man was to be Jackie Robinson. Although Jackie had always had a fighting spirit and was not one to keep emotions to himself, Jackie was the man who had the courage and strength not to. "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me,” Jackie said, ...
