According to Hank Aaron why did Jackie Robinson have to be ''bigger than life?''

idk

Bc he was the role modell for all African Americans at the time. He transcended baseball.

He was not the ''role model''. He was selected to represent the African Americans in ''sports'' because of his personality and obviously talent to break the color barrier in baseball. He had to be huge. By this l mean, he had to prove to everyone that black people are good enough to play with the white players. He was also the stronger man by not fighting back when called on. So he was bigger than life, he helped break something that nobody thought would be broken.

This was something bigger than the game.all of society would be watching this one, so the man chosen to break the barrier had to have more than just talent. Robinson himself admitted that he was not the best black player of his day.but Branch Rickey knew Robinson was worthy to be THE guy because of his talent, AND his character.

Rickey knew that a good chunk of the players, league & probably the nation were hoping for Robinson to fail. He also knew that black players & black Americans in general would be pinning the hopes of their generation on him. Robinson knew if he failed, their cause in the game & in society could be set back by two decades or more.

Finally, Rickey knew that the player chosen to bear that burden would also have to refrain from fighting back. No matter how many viscious names they called him, no matter how many times they threw at his head, Robinson knew he had to hold his temper those first few years.

For a time during the Civil Rights Era, it became fashionable among blacks to be critical of Robinson for his ''turn the other cheek'' attitude. They argued that he was too passive.too obedient to his white bosses. True to form, he was not shy about taking on all critics. ''You have to get in his door,'' he'd say. ''Before u can fight a man face-to-face.''

In today is world of self-promotion & hype in sports, it is difficult to imagine the pressure on this man to just remain ''one of the guys.'' Robinson died at age 53, his hair turned snow white.you cannot say the experience did not take its toll.

Simply put, Robinson was the right man for the role because he knew what was at stake. He was, by all accounts, a fierce competitor who did not hesitate to get into the faces of his teammates.but on the field he held all that back so that people could only judge him as one thing: a Ballplayer.

As the years pass so does the legend grow. Robinson was an exception athlete. Not great,but exception. He was not mister nice guy as everyone seems to think. He was a stubborn hot headed man, as his military record will show, who was intelligent enough to realize that with the help of Dodgers GM Branch Rickey, his name would be forever linked with baseball as the first acknowledged black to play in the major leagues.

He put up with a lot of grief to be sure but Rickey & the Dodgers made it worth while, make no mistake about that. Robinson used baseball just like baseball used him. He might have enjoyed the game for what it was but he was not fond of the major leagues & most of the people he played with & against.

He had a chip on his shoulder as big as a mountain but he knew how to use it to his benefit. Yes, Robinson is legend is bigger than life. Historians have seen to that. Important for the game? Perhaps but if not Robinson, than eventually someone would have carried the cross.

Robinson is major league career was excellent. Whether 10 years, (8 of which were note worthy), qualifies him for the hall is questionable. But the baseball writers association over reacted & put him in. Retiring his number was another example of over reacting.

Those who never saw him play have made him bigger than life. Those who really never took the time to study his life but went on heresay have made him bigger than life. He is nothing more than a symbol of society & it is terrible faults. Hank Aaron, like many others have reached a point where we r all sick & tired of hearing about Jackie Robinson. His number should never have been retired. A foolish gesture that only fuels the flame of past hatred. It is time to stop living in the past for crying out loud.