Football

The contribution Robinson made to Major League Baseball will always be cherished. Every major league team observes Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 each year to commemorate the day he broke the color barrier in baseball by becoming the first African-American player to play in either the American or National leagues in the 20th century. Robinson’s Personal Life On January 31, 1919, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia. The youngest of five kids, he was young. Soon after Jackie was born, his father abandoned the family, and Jackie never saw him again. He was reared by his mother, Millie, and his three brothers and one sister. After Jackie was born, the family relocated to Pasadena, California, around a year later. Jackie watched his elder siblings succeed in sports there as he grew up. At the 1936 Olympics, his brother Mack, a track standout, took home a silver medal in the 200-meter dash. Jackie attended UCLA for college, where he excelled in basketball, football, baseball, and track. He was the first UCLA athlete to receive varsity letters in all four sports. In the long jump, he was the NCAA champion as well. Robinson played professional football after graduating from college, but World War II's outbreak quickly ended his career. He was enlisted in the military. Jackie met renowned boxing champion Joe Lewis, at basic training, and they grew close. Robinson attended officer training school with the assistance of Joe. Jackie was deployed to Fort Hood, Texas, to join the 761st Tank Battalion after completing his officer training. Because they were not permitted to serve alongside white soldiers, this battalion was exclusively made up of African-American soldiers.                                 His Career Early in 1945, the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League signed Jackie Robinson, who had a successful season, hitting.387. Branch Rickey, an executive for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was scouting the Negro Leagues at the time to find players who had not only the talent but also the temperament to handle the pressures of integrating Major League Baseball. In August 1945, Rickey interviewed several baseball players before selecting Robinson to join the Royals, a Dodgers feeder team in Montreal. His 1947 Dodgers debut attracted much attention, but not all favorable. Robinson soon established himself as a player, although opponents' teams and supporters objected to his skin tone. Robinson would go on to hit.311 throughout a 10-year career, despite being signed by the Dodgers at the comparatively advanced age of 28. In 1949, when he led the National League in batting with a.342 average, most stolen bases (37), and a career-high 124 RBI, he earned the First and Most Valuable Player Award for the first time ever given to a player of color. From 1949 to 1954, Robinson was an All-Star each year. In 1955, he guided Brooklyn to a World Series victory over the New York Yankees. Robinson worked as a sportscaster and a business executive at Chock full o'Nuts and was involved in the NAACP and other civil rights organizations after leaving the Dodgers.

Famous African American athlete Reggie White. He was well-known for his impressive performance in 15 seasons of National Football League play during his professional football career. He played collegiate football for the University of Tennessee. He received two awards for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The greatest defensive end to ever play the position is Reggie White. We will acknowledge his greatness in this retrospective of his career. White’s Personal Life Tennessee's Chattanooga is where White was born. He attended Howard School of Academics and Technology during his senior year of high school when he was given the opportunity to play for the Tennessee Volunteers. White earned All-American accolades during his senior year at Howard High School, compiling 140 tackles and ten sacks. White, one of the state's best recruits, chose Tennessee University as his school.  He participated in professional football for both USFL and NFL teams. He was a Christian as well. He had two children, Jeremy and Jecolia, with the former Sara Copeland, with whom he was married. White was a defensive line rotational player as a rookie. He had a bigger impact in his second season, making 95 tackles and eight sacks, which was a team-high. The 1981 Garden State Bowl saw the Tennessee Volunteers defeat Wisconsin 28-21 to conclude their campaign. White's junior season, hampered by a persistent ankle injury, saw him record 47 tackles and seven sacks. Despite the loss (28-22), White was outstanding in the Peach Bowl with eight tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble.                                 His Career the mark for the most career sacks, a game, or a season still belongs to Reggie White. He recorded 124 more sacks during his eight seasons with the Eagles than games played (121). With 68.5 sacks later, White became the Packers' all-time leader. He held the title of Minister of Defense and was a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year winner, as well as a 13-time Pro Bowler and 10-time first-team All-Pro. White was chosen for the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1996, White won the Super Bowl for the first time. On February 4, 2006, he was given a posthumous induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As the team's captain and defensive guru, Reggie White was regarded. He is regarded as having a strong commitment to the sport. To Sports Illustrated, he said: "You are instructed to hit the ground on a double team in high school and college. You're expected to do it here. Every play, I am double-teamed, so I am used to it. Sacks are fantastic because they help you get selected for the Pro Bowl. However, I've always believed that a great defensive lineman must be equally adept at playing the run and the pass. The "guys of the game" take great satisfaction in being complete players."

To sum up, there aren't many ways to sum up, someone who has won the World Cup twice, been named FIFA World Player of the Year three times, and scored the most goals in World Cup finals history. But "Il Fenomeno" was the closest thing that global football could come up with for Ronaldo Luis Nazário De Lima, better known by his stage name Ronaldo. He was incredible and will live on as a legend of the sport. Ronaldo’s Personal Life Former Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Luis Nazário Lima is better known by his stage name, Ronaldo. On September 18, 1976, he was born in Itagui, Brazil. In his early years of school, Ronaldo discovered his love of football. At 12, he quit school to focus on his soccer career. He became a member of the Ramos Indoor Soccer Club. In 1993, he made his professional football debut with Cruzeiro after joining the Sao Crustovao Football Club as a young youngster. His debut game was against Caldense Club. He went on to score five goals against Bahia, which propelled him to prominence.                                 His Career He began his career at Cruzeiro, where he made 14 appearances and scored 12 goals. He was a member of the Brazilian team that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but he didn't participate in the game. Ronaldo moved to Holland to play for PSV after the World Cup, where he scored 30 goals in just his first season. In 1997, "O Fenômeno" moved to Barcelona, where he made 37 appearances and scored 34 goals. While at Barcelona, Ronaldo displayed incredible skill by dribbling past opponents as if they weren't there and scoring goals at will. An epileptic seizure prevented Ronaldo from helping Brazil win the 1998 World Cup despite having four goals previously throughout the tournament. Ronaldo joined Inter after leaving Barcelona and stayed there until 2002 when he scored 49 goals. Ronaldo scored two goals in the World Cup final against Germany in 2002 to help his team win the tournament and exact revenge for the final they had lost four years earlier. Ronaldo moved to Madrid in 2002, where he helped the club win the 2003 Spanish Championship. In 127 games with Madrid, he totaled 83 goals.  Ronaldo set the record for most goals scored at a World Cup when he scored his 15th goal at the 2006 edition. Brazil fell to France 1-0 in that tournament's quarterfinal round. After a brief stint with AC Milan, his career concluded at Corinthians, where he won the Brazilian Cup. Ronaldo played his final farewell game with Brazil on June 7, 2011, for 15 minutes before leaving the field for a standing ovation. In 1996, 1997, and 2002, Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times. He had tremendous ball control, weaving through defenders at a breakneck pace and scoring anytime he pleased. He continues to be among the best attackers ever.

Jim Thorpe was an American athlete widely regarded as the best in the world during the early 20th century. He played football and baseball professionally and earned Olympic gold. Thorpe’s Personal Life The specifics of his birthdate or location of birth have not been independently verified, and his childhood experiences are frequently questioned. His parents have a mixture of ancestries. His mother was Charlotte Vieux, and his father was a farmer named Hiram Thorpe. He was brought up following Indian traditions. Before being transferred to the Haskell Institute, an Indian residential school in Kansas, he attended the Sac and Fox Indian Agency School. After a fight with his father, he left home and fell into depression because his mother had died when he was still a child. He returned to his father when he was 16 and started his studies at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Due to his extraordinary physical prowess, he distinguished himself among his classmates during his school years. Glenn "Pop" Warner, a great football coach, recognized his talent and gave him coaching. Jim had yet another sorrow when his father passed away, leaving him an orphan.                                 His Career Thorpe obtained a contract with the New York Giants to play professional baseball and later wed Iva Miller, his college sweetheart. With the Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Braves throughout a six-year major league career, Thorpe batted just.252, though he produced a respectable.327 average in his final season. At the beginning of professional football, Thorpe had a far greater influence. He agreed to play for the Canton Bulldogs in 1915 for $250 per game, and he made his money back by bringing in sizable crowds and helping the team to league titles in 1916, '17, and '19.  The Bulldogs were one of the 14 teams that comprised the American Professional Football Association in 1920, which would later become the National Football League. Thorpe presided over the league for one season. Thorpe coached and participated in games for the Oorang Indians, an all-Native American team, from 1922 to 1923. The team's games included members performing "war dances" and other rituals to excite spectators. Walter Lingo, the proprietor of the Oorang Dog Kennels in LaRue, Ohio, sponsored the squad. Through 1928, Thorpe participated in NFL games with the Cleveland Indians, Rock Island Independents, New York Giants, and Chicago Cardinals. Thorpe was chosen as a founding member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, and in 1982, as a co-winner of the 1912 track events, his name was added back to the Olympic record books. He was chosen as the best athlete of the previous century in a poll sponsored by ABC Sports in 2000. He placed third in a poll by the Associated Press, demonstrating his continued prominence in American culture.