SilverNRed Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 60 years ago this weekend, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. MLB honors Jackie Robinson George F. Will Like many New Yorkers leaving home for work on April 15, 1947, he wore a suit, tie and camel-hair overcoat as he headed for the subway. To his wife he said, "Just in case you have trouble picking me out, I'll be wearing number 42." By 1956, Robinson's last season, he had lost his second-base position to Jim Gilliam, a black man. Robinson died of diabetes-related illnesses in 1972, at 53, the same age Babe Ruth was when he died. Ruth reshaped baseball; Robinson's life still reverberates through all of American life. As Martin Luther King Jr., who was 18 in 1947, was to say, Robinson was "a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides." "Robinson," writes Eig, "showed black Americans what was possible. He showed white Americans what was inevitable." By the end of the 1947 season, America's future was unfolding by democracy's dialectic of improvement. Robinson changed sensibilities, which led to changed laws, which in turn accelerated changes in sensibilities. Jack Roosevelt Robinson's middle name was homage to the president who said "speak softly and carry a big stick." Robinson's deeds spoke loudly. His stick weighed 34 ounces, which was enough. Heart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 A couple of nice photo galleries of the festivities and all the #42s out there: Gallery #1 Gallery #2 It's just awesome to see so many greats of the game honoring a guy whose contribution to sports and society was immeasurable. After all the BS of the last week this is really something about sports to feel good about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Interesting that when he went to UCLA, he was the first student ever to letter in four sports, and baseball was by far his worst. He was a very good football player and actually played pro football before he played pro baseball. As UCLA's shortstop in 1940, statistics indicate that baseball was the sport with which he had the most trouble. Robinson posted a .097 batting average the one year he played baseball for the Bruins. He excelled at the three other sports, earning All Pac-10 honors in football, being named the West Coast Conference MVP in basketball, and establishing a long jump record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 And to think that all of Jackie Robinson's accomplishments can be completely undone by Don Imus calling him a "nappy-headed ho". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 We'll see if the MLB honors Larry Doby later on this year as much as Jackie. Since the AL didnt play the NL, Doby is just as big of a deal as Robinson is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 We'll see if the MLB honors Larry Doby later on this year as much as Jackie. Since the AL didnt play the NL, Doby is just as big of a deal as Robinson is. No he's not. Just like Mark McGwire broke Maris' record, not Sammy Sosa. There's no prize for being second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 We'll see if the MLB honors Larry Doby later on this year as much as Jackie. Since the AL didnt play the NL, Doby is just as big of a deal as Robinson is. I'd love to see the numbers, but it's my impression that it took a great deal longer for the AL to become more integrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 I'd love to see the numbers, but it's my impression that it took a great deal longer for the AL to become more integrated. It took the AL longer to get all the way integrated, as the Red Sox were the last team to have a black player. (There's a famous story about a Red Sox scout seeing Willie Mays play and passing on him because he wasn't "Red Sox material." Supposedly the team was worried about having a black OF possibly outshine Ted Williams.) As for Doby, I'm pretty sure he played for the Indians in 1947, just weeks after Robinson played for Brooklyn for the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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