Some points worth pondering on this Jackie Robinson Day: Causing, as John Lewis would say, good trouble. So this Jackie Robinson Day is special, a good time to recognize not only MLB, but sports in general for pushing social progress, forcing issues into the spotlight and making noise. Robinson helped save baseball, and now baseball has Jackie’s back. What Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB did was the social equivalent of Jackie Robinson dancing off third, challenging the pitcher, then stealing home in a cloud of dust. No toothless, hand-wringing press release expressing dismay over Georgia’s law, and other so-called voter-suppression laws. Twelve days before Jackie Robinson Day, MLB announced it is moving this summer’s All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest over the state’s new voting law. Intentionally or not, MLB is truly honoring Robinson’s legacy. Now every Jackie Robinson Day is a big deal, but this year’s might be the biggest, because of the timing. The rest of the world eventually came to view that day as momentous. Of the 24,000 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn that day, more than 14,000 were Black. Well, the Times and the white world might have been too cool for school back then, but some people thought Robinson’s first game was a big deal. The Dodgers’ radio broadcasters also mentioned Robinson only in the context of a rookie in the Dodgers’ starting lineup. The story in America’s newspaper of record made no mention of the major social barrier Robinson had kicked over. In the New York Times, the next day’s game story mentioned Robinson only in passing, as part of a play in which he was involved. This year’s Jackie Robinson Day, Thursday, is the biggest since the original in 1947, although that one, by some accounts, was no big deal. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times Show More Show Less Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2020 Show More Show Less 12 of12Ī statue of Jackie Robinson sits in the outfield beyond the bleachers at Dodger Stadium. Giants manager Gabe Kapler kneels during national anthem before an exhibition game against A’s at Oakland Coliseum on July 20, 2020. Photo File / MLB Photos via Getty Images Show More Show Less 11 of12 Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers poses for a portrait in an undated photograph. Adam Glanzman / MLB via Getty Images 2019 Show More Show Less 10 of12 42 42 for Jackie Robinson Day, stand for the national anthem at Fenway Park on April 15, 2019. Members of the Baltimore Orioles, wearing No. Associated Press 1949 Show More Show Less 9 of12 From left: Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson. Robert Riger / Getty Images 1956 Show More Show Less 8 of12įour of the first Black players to play major-league baseball posed at the 1949 All-Star Game. Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers takes a huge lead off third base during a game at Ebbets Fields in 1956. New York Times / 1950 Show More Show Less 7 of12 At about $35,000, Robinson's salary paled in comparison to the $100,000 earned by Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio (roughly $1 million today). 24, 1950, around the time Robinson signed for the highest salary ever paid to a Brooklyn player during Rickey’s tenure. Jackie Robinson stands with Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey in New York on Jan. Ralph Freso / Getty Images 2020 Show More Show Less 6 of12 Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford wears a Black Lives Matter shirt prior to the MLB game at Arizona on Aug. Christian Petersen / Getty Images 2020 Show More Show Less 5 of12 The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 42, kneels during the national anthem for the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Aug. Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, wearing Jackie Robinson’s No. Adrian Kraus / AP Show More Show Less 4 of12 28 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, after a summer of Black Lives Matter protests.
Jackie Robinson Day, when all major-league players wear Robinson’s No.
JACKIE ROBINSON AUTOGRAPH ARCHIVE
Bettmann Archive 1947 Show More Show Less 3 of12 Transcendental Graphics / Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of12īrooklyn Dodgers fans, reach over from behind the dugout at Ebbets field trying to get an autograph from Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson, foreground, and the Brooklyn Dodgers are at spring training in this photo taken in Ciudad Trujillo (present day Santo Domingo), Dominican Republic, in March 1948.
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