42: Gordon Mack
Jackie Robinson is often remembered and honored for his bravery and achievement through the sport of baseball. However, he inspires me because he pioneered the multi-sport athlete. Jackie Robinson was a four-sport athlete, starring in baseball, basketball, football and track. In this day in age where high school athletes are forced to choose one sport, the multi-sport athlete has become less prevalent. The pressure of earning a scholarship and having to commit to one sport has grown drastically. Jackie was not a great baseball player and decent basketball/football/track athlete, he was a legit all-around great athlete in all four sports. To me, his outstanding achievement in four sports is something that I feel will never happen again. We will never see a Lebron James take the football field, or an Usain Bolt return a punt. Jackie Robinson was the epitome of athlete even in the midst of the humongous hurdles he had to overcome.
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