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Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was born on January 17, 1942
in Louisville, Kentucky. His real name was Cassius Marcellus
Clay Jr. He boxed under his real name until he won his first
world championship. He was an idol to all blacks and was a
spokesman for them. His outgoing personality and he changed
his religion to Black Muslim. He got the world's attention
when he beat Sonny Liston and won the light heavyweight
championship. He was the first black boxer to appear on
television which made him even more famous.
His title was taken away from him when
declined military services due to religion reason but was
still granted to fight. He regained his title from George
Foreman lost it to Leon Spinks and regained it the same
year. Ali retired in 1981 and became the world's greatest
boxer.
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Hank Aaron
Henry " Hank " Aaron was 15 when he made
the life changing experience of playing Baseball for the
Mobile Black Bears. Later in his Life he joined the
Indianapolis Clowns. Years later he got the attention of the
Boston Braves. When he finally made it Pro angry Americans
booed him . They booed him because of his race which at that
time was a major issue. When they found out about his skills
they started liking him.
Throughout his lifetime he beat the"
Babe's " (Babe Ruth ) record , hit 715 home runs. When he
began his career for the Atlanta braves he began the highest
paid Player of that time . Hank Aaron to most people was a
legend but to me and my partners he truly was an American
Hero.
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Joe
DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio was born on November
25, 1914 in Martinez, California. He played center field in
the late 1930's to the 1940's for the New York Yankees. He
was a hard hitter and one of the quickest and skilled
outfielders to ever set foot on a baseball field. He was the
eighth of the nine kids of a San Francisco
fisherman.
In 1936 the Yankees bought him over from
the San Francisco Seals. At age 18 he achieved a 61-game
hitting streak. He was voted three times New York's Most
Valuable Player, led the team to ten pennants, nine World
Series, and lead the American League twice in home runs,
batting average, slugging average, and runs batted in. He
was the greatest baseball player the world has ever
seen.
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Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffery Jordan truly is an icon .
Even thought his Baseball career wasn't all that great his
Basketball career has been the best ever. He is the most
notorious Basketball player in the world . You usually
notice him by his signature move ( the Slam Dunk ) . This
Basketball Legend 's life hasn't been all that great . In
High School he didn't even make the Basketball team As a
Sophomore he made his defying jump shot to win the game. In
his second year in the NBA he scored 63 points against the
Boston Celtics . He won the scoring championship five years
in a role , he won an NCAA title , a Gold Medal , and an NBA
ring. He is a very active spokesperson for Nike , his
signature cologne , and Ballpark Franks . Dr. J , is Known
all over the world for his air riding dunks. about his
Baseball career , he wasn't all that great because he truly
was a Basketball hero . The only reason he played Baseball
is because he promised his late father he would play . When
he returned a year later he began playing like he never did
before. From 45 to 23 no matter what number he is he's still
a hero to us and all of the rest of the world.
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Jackie
Robinson
To most people Jackie Robinson really
isn't all that that important but, if
you were an African-American looking at a human being
that is usually treated different being a
Major League Baseball player it would make you think. Jackie
Robinson was the first ever African American to play in the
modern area of the Major Leagues.
Mr.Robinson played for Montreal in 1946
and for the Yankees 1947. He played 151 games as the first
baseman because Branch Ricky , the Dodgers general manager,
was afraid of what people might do to him if was second
baseman which by that I mean spiking him with their kleets.
When he was finally moved to 2nd base he became a star
player. Throughout Jackie's lifetime he received many awards
: M.V.P. , Six National League Championship , and of course
was elected into the baseball's Hall of Fame. In 1956 he was
traded to the New York Giants but chose to retire instead of
playing for the Dodger's arch nemesis. This decision brought
his wonderful career to a sudden halt. Even through the
threats and reducible he still was there and to me that
makes him a hero.
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Babe Ruth
George
Herman Ruth was born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore,
Maryland. Ruth was probably the most greatest slugger and
the most best known baseball player in the history in
baseball. Ruth revitalized baseball to become the worlds
favorite pastime. He teamed up with Lou Gehrig to become the
best two hitting team in baseball. But Ruth did not start
out for the Yankees he was a left-handed pitcher for the
Boston Red Sox in 1914. While he was pitching he won 89
games and lost 46. In 1919 he hit an astonishing 54 home
runs with a .376 batting average. He then hit 59 home runs
in 1921 then hit a home run record of 60 in 1927. He retired
in 1935 with 714 career home runs. In 1936 he was elected
into Baseball's Hall of Fame as one of the first five
members. He died on August 16, 1948.
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Jesse Owens
In 1935 Jesse Owens accomplished 3 world
records and tied another in 45 minutes. Adolf Hitler 's
storm troopers goose-stepped when Hitler threatened and
postured. That was the background for the Olympics in 1936.
When Jesse finished running, jumping, and running some more,
Owens, grandson of slaves and son of a cropper, had easily
beat Hitlers story of Aryan supremacy. He ran four
victorious runs , winning gold medals in the 100 and 200
meter dashes, the long jump , and on America's 4 * 100 relay
team. The score was:
When he was seven he was supposed to pick
100 pounds of cotton a day. When he was nine he moved to
Cleveland. When he told people his name he said J.C. but he
had such a southern accent they thought he was saying. That
is what we call him to this day. When he was a teenager he
either set or tied a records in High School in the 100 and
220 yard dashes and the long jump. It was called the "broad
jump" back then.
Two weeks before the 1935 Big Ten
Championship, Owens was involved in a very bad prank with
his friends. when he was running away from the prank the
prank got him back and he fell and hurt his tailbone
severely. On May 25 in Ann Harbor Michigan Owens couldn't
even touch his toes. When Owens was ready for his first
race. Jesse Owens said the pain "miraculously disappeared."
At 3:15 he ran the 100 yard dash in 9.4 seconds to tie in
the world records. At 3:25 He only jumped one long jump, in
it he flew 26-8 1/4, a world record that lasted 25 years. At
4:00 he got 22.6 seconds in the in the 220 yard low hurdles,
he became the only man in history to break 23 seconds in the
event.
On August 3, Jesse Owens the 5 foot 10
inches, 165 speeding bullet won his first final, taking the
100 meters in 10.3 barely beating Ralph Metcalfe. who also
just happens to be an African-American. Later in the finals
, Long's fifth jump tied Owens 25-10, then Owens jumped 26-3
on hi next attempt and won gold medal with a last jump of
26-5. The first to congratulate Owens was Long who you would
think is pure Nazi but isn't. In 1950 he was voted the
greatest track and field star. In 1976, President Ford
awarded Owens with the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor
the U.S.. can give a person. Owens died on March 31, 1980 in
Tucson Arizona from smoking. Four years after he died a
street in Berlin was named after Owens. Ten years after he
died, President Bush awarded Owens the Medal of Honor after
he died. Owens a great American hero of the twentieth
century.
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Wilma
Rudolph
Wilma Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940
in Bethlehem, Tennessee. When she was born she was diagnosed
with poliomyelitis, double pneumonia, and scarlet fever. She
somehow in her seventh year survived. After she finished
elementary school she attended Burt High School. While she
was there she took a liking to sports, especially
basketball. After a year the coach brought together a track
team, immediately she joined. After she had joined she ran
20 50, 75, and 100 meter dash races.
When she was fifteen she entered the
first major track meet at Alabama Tuskegee Institute, she
was defeated in every race. She was convinced that she
needed proper training and would have to train hard. A coach
at Tennessee welcomed her to track camp. Each day day she
was there she ran 20 miles and had cross-country training to
build stamina, endurance, and speed. At the end of the
summer camp the coach took all his students to a contest in
Philadelphia where Rudolph won all nine races she entered.
When she was a junior in high school she
entered as the youngest member in Seattle at the Olympic
trials. In 1958 she participated in the Tennessee State
University. In 1960 she attended the Texas Christian
University and set a world record that would last for 8
years. She qualified for the Olympic Games in Rome and was
the first woman to receive 3 gold medals in the 100, 200,
and relay races. Later her and the rest of the team were
invited to visit Pope John XXII.
Rudolph achieved the Sullivan Award in
1961 which is given to the most top amateur athlete and the
Female of the Year Award. Rudolph graduated in May 27, 1963
from Tennessee State University. She accepted a job for a
girls' track coach. She later married her sweetheart Robert
Eldridge and they moved together to Evansville, Indiana.
Later on she moved to Boston where she became involved in
the Job Corps program in Poland Springs, Maine.
A few years later on Nov. 12, 1994, Wilma
Rudolph died of brain cancer in Nashville, Tennessee.
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