How America Learned to Dream There are many things in the United States that receive front page headlines and are covered in the news, but none receive the attention and coverage that sports do. A controversial topic that made the headlines in 1896 was the Plessy vs. Ferguson case which stated that it was ok to keep whites and blacks separate, as long as they were treated equally. In agreement with racism and the principle of separate but equal, sports adopted this same attitude when it came to the restriction and segregation of athletes; keeping black athletes on a separate playing field than professional white athletes. However, the playing fields of America were integrated years before the Supreme Court reversed its decision in 1954. A look at U.S. history shows that sports have set the tone for America to begin integration off the field and have always been an effective way of unifying people. Many Americans feel comfortable relating sports to every day life. Just like drugs are a bad thing in American society, steroids are illegal for professional athletes. Comparisons like this can be made both on and off the field and this was the case for the color barrier in baseball. The issue of racial segregation in professional baseball was an unwritten rule. There has never been an official ban on black players within the structure known as organized baseball (Moffi 1). Segregation was so ingrained and often unconsciously accepted by most Americans that an official ban of black major leaguers was not necessary. The white owners and managers in baseball made the unanimous decision that it was too much of a hassle to attempt signing a black player, regardless of his ability, which was why they chose to avoid the situation altogether. It wasnt until 1945 that Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed <a href="/keyword/jackie-robinson/" >jackie robinson</a> to a pro baseball contract with a minor league affiliate of the Dodgers. Happy Chandler, the commissioner of baseball at the time, once said, &quot;It was true that black players had never been accepted, but that was because nobody had the courage to sign them&quot; (Moffi 2). Not only did Rickey have the courage to sign a black player, but Robinson himself had enough courage to be the first black man in organized baseball. Rickey often referred to his signing of Robinson as, &quot;The Great Experiment.&quot; He planned to integrate the major leagues and needed a special African American player who met some specific requirements: &quot;I was looking for a man who blended the key ingredients of baseball skill, intelligence and most important, grace under pressure&quot; (Porter 285). Without these characteristics, Rickey never would have been able to accomplish his revolutionary goals. After putting Robinson through nearly every negative situation he might face being the first black baseball player, Rickey laid it all out on the line at their meeting of what he wanted: &quot;Mr. Rickey, do you want a ballplayer that is afraid to fight back? Robinson asked. Mr. Rickey responded by saying ,,I want a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back&quot; (Robinson 6). The experiment was successful, which made Robinson the pioneer for African American athletes to integrate sports. Many owners, who previously had all white pro football and baseball teams, promptly shifted their attention to the untapped market that was black fans. The owners followed Rickeys lead when they realized that integrating the game of baseball was the best way to get African American fans through the turnstiles. Rickeys idea of integration proved to be successful during an exhibition game between Robinsons Dodgers and the hometown Cleveland Indians. A crowd of nearly 65,000 fans turned out for the game, 26,000 of which were black; one of every six blacks in Cleveland attended that game (Moffi 8). The fans didnt come to watch a baseball game, they specifically came to watch a black player that didnt even play on their own team. Just as the ban of black players in baseball was an unwritten rule, so was the case for African Americans in pro football. With baseball and the Negro Leagues being a huge part of black sports history, football was not nearly as important to the black community. Nonetheless, a color barrier was instituted in the National Football League. It was never officially documented, but all the owners of NFL teams verbally agreed not to sign black players. Their reasoning was very simple: &quot;in the midst of The Depression it was considered unseemly for a black man to make more money than a white man, whatever the field of operation&quot; (Ross 50). Professional sports are more than just game; it is a business and a job for everyone involved. The Los Angeles Rams had one thing in mind when they finally decided to break the color barrier in the NFL: more money. When the Rams signed Kenny Washington to a professional contract, it was because they were extremely low on money and needed to pay for their lease of the Los Angeles Coliseum. The thought process was nearly identical to Rickeys: if they had a black player, it would draw more fans and boost gate receipts (Ross 82). It was no coincidence that the two largest crowds to attend pro football games at the time were both home games of the only teams with black players. The black press considered the reintegration of pro football the second biggest story of 1946, only behind the signing of <a href="/keyword/jackie-robinson/" >jackie robinson</a> in baseball. Many black Americans truly felt that the integration that was happening in sports would promote equality in all other aspects of American life (Ross 96). With the breaking of the color barrier in organized baseball, it meant the end for the Negro Leagues, the black baseball league. With the new buzz black baseball players were creating in organized baseball, fans began attending Major League games rather than Negro League games. The declining support for the Negro League and the new inflation of attendance for organized baseball showed that people finally came to agree with integration of baseball in the post WWII era (Rogosin 4). &quot;To a man, they opened the eyes and allayed fears. As a group they are the most influential players in the history of baseball, the thread and weave of one of the most significant lessons in the education of America&quot; (Moffi 10). Black major leaguers were becoming more accepted every day when they realized they were every bit as good as the white players. A national crisis, which in some ways can be seen as somewhat of a blessing in disguise, would be the Civil War which split the country from 1861 to 1865. One of the positive aspects of the war was that it brought men together from all parts of the country. In between battles, they were able to learn new things that they were previously not familiar with. Sports were one of the biggest things that united troops. &quot;The games illustrated the beginning of a leisure movement in the United States&quot; (Nelson 3). Leisure time was a new concept that was largely embraced by Americans all around the country. The leisure time involved in attending spectator sports was something that allowed the nation to come together while at the same time reducing some of the social stress that weighed on the minds of American citizens. As the media began to increasingly cover sports, it provided individual athletes a chance to appear larger than life which allowed members of immigrant groups to dream of lifting themselves from the poverty that they lived in (Nelson 4). Boxing became the first sport which started to gain popularity among U.S. citizens. The first three heavyweight champions were Irish, followed by the fame of Jewish boxers as well as the dominance of African American champions up until 1915. These boxers gave entire ethnic groups a glimpse of success and the thought of finally being recognized meant a great deal. It is believed that many immigrants can relate to their boxing heroes because they were easily able to understand the fighting spirit which was necessary to succeed in the ring (Nelson 5). Although Jack Dempsey isnt considered to be one of the greatest boxers of his time, he still embodied the new spirit of the American West. Dempsey grew up as a miner in Colorado which won him a large number of fans throughout that region of the United States. His two fights against Jack Tunney drew over 100,000 spectators for each event which was enough to earn him front page status on nearly every major newspaper across the United States (Nelson 6). Even though champion boxers where the first when it came to icons, there was no hero bigger than Babe Ruth in the early 1900s. Ruths lower working-class background and easy going personality allowed fans everywhere to become comfortable with him and his legendary ability to hit home runs permitted Ruth to become Americas biggest sports hero. Another man of status during the golden age of sports was the football coach of Notre Dame, Knute Rockne. Rockne is another sports hero whose life was consistent with dominant American themes; he was a Norwegian immigrant who grew up in Chicago and played football for Notre Dame in 1913. Because of Rockne, the Fighting Irish became the team that many immigrants identified with even if they had never set foot on a college campus (Nelson 5). It was men like this who allowed all citizens of the United States to visualize the possibility of a better way of life. The history of the America is almost directly related to many aspects of the sporting world. As sports began to flourish, so did the rest of the country. This golden era of sports provided many heroes that the country could grow up and rally around while at the same time integrating races and opening the doors of racial equality. From immigrants seeing glimpses of a better life, to Martin Luther King, Jr. daring the entire country to dream, and just as Babe Ruth changed baseball, <a href="/keyword/jackie-robinson/" >jackie robinson</a> changed America. Works Cited Rogosin, Donn. Invisible Men: Life in Baseball's Negro Leagues. New York: McClelland and Stewart Ltd., 1983. Ross, Charles K. Outside the Lines: African Americans and the Integration of the National Football League. New York: New York University Press, 1999. Moffi, Larry. Crossing the Line: Black Major Leaguers. Jefferson: McFarland and Co., 1994. Robinson, Sharon. Stealing Home: An Intimate Family Portrait by the Daughter of <a href="/keyword/jackie-robinson/" >jackie robinson</a> . New York: Harper Collins, 1996. Nelson, Murry. &quot;Sports History as a Vehicle for Social and Cultural Understanding in American History.&quot; The Social Studies May/June 2005: 118-125. Porter, David L., 1st ed. African-American Sports Greats: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1995.