Successes

As the first African-American player in MLB history, Jackie Robinson empowered the African-American community and drew attention to the civil rights injustices that were being perpetrated during that time.  Most people focus on what Jackie accomplished off the field, but what he accomplished on the field was almost equally impressive.  His greatest year was 1949 when he won the Most Valuable Player award of the whole MLB.  He led the league in batting average and stolen bases that year, and he narrowly edged out the great Stan Musial for the award.  The highlight of his career came in 1954 though, when he led the Brooklyn Dodgers to the World Series that they eventually won.  These awards Jackie compiled throughout his career are only a small portion of what he accomplished.  He was the first ever African-American to play professional baseball in the MLB, not the Negro Leagues.  He was an entrepreneur for the civil rights movement  towards the end and after his career.  Before Jackie, only caucasian men could play in the MLB.  Jackie was the first MLB player to not be caucasian, and he paved the way for athletes of all ethnicities and backgrounds to play professional baseball.  Today, many of the top MLB players are from other countries or ethnic minorities.  Overall his legacy was a phenomenal success, he accomplished all that he sought out to do.  He was one of the greatest players of his era, and won the most prestigious personal and team awards possible.  But more importantly he broke the color barrier that had been set up for many years.  

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Jackie also had arguably the most memorable and gutsy play in World Series history when  he stole home.