Jackie Robinson - 62nd anniversary

Yesterday was the 62nd anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first regular season game as a Brooklyn Dodger, thereby breaking the color line that dated back to the 19th century. Of special note in this year's observances was the dedication of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda at the Mets' new ballpark. Paul and I will be there a week from Saturday and I am really looking forward to it. I have to say I am very impressed with how Major League baseball has honored Robinson's memory - retiring his number 42 for all major league teams was an inspired idea as is the now standard practice of every player wearing 42 on April 15th.

I know my buddy DT doesn't want to hear this, but I am not old enough to remember Jackie Robinson's first year with the Dodgers. My only years of really active rooting for the Brooklyn version were 1956-57 and Robinson retired after the 1956 season. Looking back, however, I do know that the fact that it was a player on my favorite team who broke the color line had a lasting impact on me. Oddly for someone who grew up in the whitest of suburbs and didn't really know any blacks until I was in my 40's, the issue of equal rights for blacks (and for everyone else for that matter) has always been very important to me. Had it not been for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson, it is very unlikely that I would have done things like send Paul to a minority high school in Newark and/or spend over 20 years of my life as a member of an inner city church in Paterson. Those and similar things have been very positive experiences for me and, again, I owe it to the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson.

Last night I watched the Mets' game and then the first inning of the Dodgers' game. Early in the Mets' game, Rachel Robinson was in the booth - I can't believe she is 86 years old, I think we need to see proof! I remember hearing former Dodger pitcher, Joe Black (first black pitcher to ever start a World Series game) say that Jackie Robinson had two things going for him - his faith and Rachel Robinson. And long since his death, she has not just kept his memory alive, but kept his work going.

The Dodgers game was announced by Vin Scully who as actually an announcer with the Brooklyn Dodgers so he knew Robinson first hand. I don't think he was with the Dodgers in 1947, but he told a story of how when the team was in Cincinnati, the death threats reached the point that everyone was concerned. Supposedly the Dodgers had a team meeting and outfielder Gene Hermanski said, "I know what we can do, we can all where number 42," at which point the locker room broke up in laughter - the point being that except for Robinson, they were all white. Scully then said, I never thought I would live to see the day when everyone did where 42, but here we are. A great story, well told.

The other thing of note was an article in yesterday's New York Times about how impressed Jose Reyes' of the Mets was that Robinson had stolen home 19 times in his career - somebody once described it as baseball's most exciting play. That, of course, led to his most controversial steal of home in the first game of the 1955 World Series, Yankee catcher Yogi Berra still insists Robinson was out. It is amazing how long that controversy has lasted, for three reasons, it was so long ago, it had no impact on the result of the game and, above all the fact that Robinson was clearly safe!