Michael Jordan's Childhood
The Very Beginning
“Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York, to James who worked at an electric plant and Delores Jordan who worked at a bank. Due to that fact, Michael was not a rags-to-riches story, his childhood was reasonably comfortable. He is the fourth children in the family with two older brothers; Larry and James, one older sister; Delores, and one younger sister; Roslyn. A few years after Michael was born, his parents were concerned about raising their family on the mean streets of Brooklyn, where drugs and violence could become a way of life for those unable to resist the temptations. That's why they moved the whole family to Wilmington, North Carolina, the small, laid back town, which they perceived as a better place to raise their family. And so Wilmington was where Michael and his brothers and sisters grew up.”
The start of a historic career
Michael Jordan completed elementary education from the Ogden Elementary School and then attended the Trask Junior High School. On moving to Wilmington, he was a student of the Emsley A. Laney High School. His athletic skills were seen right from school where he played basketball, football and baseball. He had won the Dixie Youth Baseball Association's Mr. Baseball title and the Outstanding Athlete title when attending Trask Middle School. At the age of 12, said Deloris during the ESPN interview, Michael was suspended from school. Deloris knew she had to play the stickler now. She could not let Michael spend time doing nothing or watching TV. So she started taking him to the bank where he would stay in her car reading books the whole day, while she would watch over. At the age of 15, Michael Jordan was around 5-foot-11. His first attempt to be a part of the varsity basketball team failed as his height did not match the eligibility criteria for selection. His best friend, height 6-foot-4 was included in the team while Jordan had to stay behind. As a child, the one thing he wanted in himself was - to grow tall. And after his failed attempt at getting selected, he decided he would. He always told his mother what he wanted. His mother used to say he should put salt in his shoes and pray. Young Michael would think it was silly and he would express the same feeling before his father. His father had replied saying, "You have it in your heart. The tallness is within you. You can be as tall as you want to be in your thinking". Michael Jordan would not let his height get in the way. He skipped classes to go practice basketball in the gym. During the year following his failed attempt, he grew taller and earned a well-deserved spot on the varsity basketball team. When he was a senior, he was selected as a member of the McDonald's All-American Team. Michael Jordan majored in cultural geography from the University of North Carolina. He continued to play basketball throughout his education. He also won a couple of Player of the College Awards then.
Works Cited/Resources
"Michael Jordan Biography." AceShowbiz The Ace in Entertainment. N.p.. Web. 23 May 2013. http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/michael_jordan/.
"Michael Jordan Childhood Years." Sneaker Files. Sneaker Files. Web. 23 May 2013. http://www.sneakerfiles.com/michael-jordan-childhood-years/.
"Michael Jordan's Childhood Years." Michael Jordan's Childhood. Buzzle. Web. 24 May 2013. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/michael-jordans-childhood.html.