 |
 |
|
 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
SPORTS HERO:
JACKIE ROBINSON
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Adaptive Action Sports has provided opportunities for adaptive athletes to compete in snowboarding competitions. | Aimee Mullins challenges the definitions of physical beauty and athletic ability. | Alexander Medved is a three-time Olympic wrestling champion and vice-president of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee. | Amy Hannus is a boxer who champions women's strengths. | Andy Borchardt is a high school football player who inspires others with his positive attitude and priorities in life. | Anfernee Hardaway overcame great obstacles and became a basketball hero. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Armintie Price is a hardworking, passionate, and inspiring basketball star in the WNBA. | Arnold Palmer is a golf icon who moved the sport onto the national scene. | Arthur Ashe was a tennis champion and humanitarian. | Bethany Hamilton survived a shark attack and inspired the world | Bill Bradley once a pro-basketball player now is a politician who advocates reform to make America better for all. | Bill Veeck was a maverick sports owner and an inspiration to fans. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Billie Jean King is an advocate for women in sports and champion tennis player | Billy Mills is an Olympic gold medal runner who encourages Native American youth to believe in the power of their dreams. | C. Vivian Stringer is one of the great women's basketball coaches and a great role model for her players and fans. | C. Vivian Stringer despite great challenges, pursued her passion for basketball and is known for turning women into champions. | Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. was honored by the Phoenix Foundation for Children. | Cathy Freeman wins races and respect for the plight of native Australian people. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Chamique Holdsclaw is one of the most celebrated players in women's basketball. | Darrell Green started a foundation to help underprivileged kids better their futures and become strong leaders | Dave Congdon is a Special Olympics athlete and an inspiration to many facing barriers and difficult times. | DeeDee Jonrowe is a veteran dog sled musher in the Iditarod Race | Dennis Bergkamp is a great Dutch soccer player. | Derartu Tulu was the first African woman to win an Olympic gold medal. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Detective Luis Rosa volunteers to make the lives of people with disabilities better. | Dick Hoyt is a dedicated Dad who breaks down barriers to his son's disability. | Douglas Richard Flutie established a foundation to help families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. | Duke Kahanamoku was an Olympic gold medalist and 'Father of Surfing' | Earl Boykins is a star basketball player who has fought against the odds | Ellen MacArthur has broken numerous records with her courageous solo sailing adventures. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah rode a bike across Ghana to challenge the stigma of being disabled. | Eric Liddell was an Olympic champion who held fast to his Christian beliefs. | Ernie Wallengren was an acclaimed writer, and a beloved youth basketball coach. | Eunice Kennedy Shriver dedicated her life to raising awareness and creating opportunities for the intellectually disabled. | Florence Griffith-Joyner was one of the greatest athletes of all time. | Girls for Gender Equity, Inc. encourages girls to live self-determined and healthy lives and to contribute to their community. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Greg Moore was a world-class racecar driver when he died at age 24. | Haile Gebrselassie is a record-breaking champion runner and a humanitarian, fighting against poverty in Ethiopia. | Hank Aaron is a baseball legend. | Ian James Thorpe an Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming, established a foundation to help children in need. | Jackie Chan dedicates his time and money to helping others. | Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Jacques Plante was a great hockey player who saved lives by inventing the goalie mask. | Janet Guthrie First woman to race in the Indianapolis 500 | Jesse Owens defied the odds in running. | Judit Polgar is breaking the gender barrier in the world of chess. | Julie Krone a female jockey and first woman to win the Triple Crown | Lance Armstrong overcame cancer to become the world's fastest bicyclist. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Lance Armstrong inspires Pryor because he persevered and overcame adversity to become a successful athlete. | Lawrence Peter also known as Yogi Berra was a great baseball player and poet...'It aint over till its over' | Libby Riddles won the Iditarod dog sled race in 1985. | Lionel Andrés Messi became a professional soccer player in spite of the odds against him. | Lisa Leslie is a WNBA star and an inspiration to girls. | Loretta Claiborne is a star Special Olympics Global Messenger, athlete, and marathon runner. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Lou Ferrigno is a successful actor and bodybuilder who overcame a hearing disability. | Louie Bonpua was an inspiration to fellow cancer patients and athletes. | Magic Johnson inspires others with his basketball talents and philanthropic work. | Mariel (Mia) Hamm has inspired the next generation of women athletes with her talent, her mentoring and her humanitarian work. | Marla Runyan overcame a visual impairment to become an Olympic runner. | Martina Moravcova is Slovakia's first world champion swimmer to ever win multiple medals at the Olympics. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Mia Hamm has inspired the next generation of women athletes. | Michael James Owen is a great soccer player. | Michael Jordan can do anything with a basketball, and is admired on and off the court. | Michael Phelps is an inspiring Olympic swimmer. | Mickey Mantle created a foundation to help people needing organ transplants. | Mildred "Babe" Didrikson excelled in every sport she played. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Muhammad Ali is still 'The Greatest.' | Nadia Comaneci was the first and youngest gymnast ever to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics. | Natalie Darwitz is an Olympic hockey champion who inspires her cousin with her perseverance and leadership skills. | Oswaldo Sanchez Ibarra is a famed Mexican soccer goalie. | Pelé is a great Brazilian soccer hero. | Pete Carroll is a successful coach who founded A Better LA to help gang members live a better life and plug into their communities. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Picabo Street is one of the greatest alpine skiers ever. | Rania Elwani is a renowned Egyptian Olympian swimmer. | Rebecca Lobo inspires basketball playing Emma with her commitment and determination to succeed. | Roberto Clemente was a baseball great and a selfless humanitarian. | Rocky Marciano is the only undefeated heavyweight champion in boxing history. | Rosario Iglesias was 80 years old when she became a runner and started to win medals. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Rudy wanted to run before he could walk. | Sachin Tendulkar is a wicket-wielding cricket celebrity. | Sandra Kay Yow is a groundbreaking women's basketball coach and founder of Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. | Sandra Schmirler was Saskatchewan's beloved curling champion. | Scott Hamilton performs magic on the ice rink and battles heroically with cancer. | So Taguchi inspires one of his fans to persevere and try his best. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Soul Surfing: Laurel Eastman is a kiteboarder committed to finding ways in which sport and the environment can exist in harmony. | Special Olympics Athletes demonstrate their unity and support of each other through kindness and sportsmanship | Steve Prefontaine was one of America's most famous runners. | Tawera Nikau was a successful rugby player who overcame personal losses to help at-risk youth in his community. | Tiger Woods one of the most successful golfers of all times, has inspired minority golfers | Troy Aikman is an NFL legend and sponsor of children's charities. |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Venus Williams won the 2000 US Open tennis tournament. | Vince Carter is both a talented and compassionate basketball star. | Willie Howard Mays was a favored baseball player. | Willie O'Ree was the NHL's first black hockey player. | Wilma Rudolph was the first American woman to win 3 Olympic gold medals. | Wilt Chamberlain may be the best basketball player of all time. |
 | |||||
| Yogi Berra Baseball legend Yogi Berra is known not only for his brilliant career, but also for his kindness and genuineness. |
Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, raised Jackie and her four other children, because their father left them. They were the only black family on the block, and the prejudice they encountered was unbelievable. From this humble beginning, Jackie would grow up to be the first person to successfully break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He married Rachel Issum on Feb. 10, 1946. He had 3 children: Jackie Jr. (Died in 1971), Sharon and David. Jackie Robinson died on Oct. 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut.
The courage Jackie Robinson had was unbelievable. Throughout his career people threatened to kill him and his family unless he quit. Despite all this he continued to play and play well in major league baseball. Jackie Robinson was not the first player to play in the major league, that was Larry Doby, but Robinson was the first to do it successfully. 
Jackie Robinson played for 10 years (not including years spent in the minors and black league). Six of those years he led the Brooklyn Dodgers into the World Series. He signed with the Dodgers in 1945, played in their Minor Leagues in 1946, and in the Majors from 1947 to 1956. In 1947, he was named the NL Rookie of the Year, and in 1949, he was named the MVP. Jackie Robinson was the first black player to be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (1962). 
