A friend from another country wrote to me today about “Jackie Robinson Day” ( being celebrated today, April 15), and asked if softball had a situation similar to that in baseball. I don’t know the answer to that question, but it got me to thinking about Jackie, today’s celebrations, and the power of sports and teammates. The day has special meaning for the Dodgers, the team for whom Jackie played, and for the Dodgers who broke the barrier that changed the game, and changed the world.
Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually in Major League Baseball, commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, Jackie Robinson Day is celebrated each year on the same date. The festivity is a result of Robinson’s memorable career, best known for becoming the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947. His debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers (today known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) ended approximately eighty years of baseball segregation, also known as the baseball color line, or color barrier.
One part of the Jackie Robinson story that has always stayed with me, was the friendship he had with teammate Pee Wee Reese, and the powerful effect of one person standing up for another. It is a kinship that any of us who have ever been a member of a team can relate to.
Reese was a strong supporter of the first 20th century black Major League Baseball player, Jackie Robinson. He was serving a stint in the Navy when the news of Robinson’s signing came. Although he had little or no experience interacting with minorities — according to Reese, his meeting Robinson marked the first time in his life that he had shaken hands with a black man — he had no particular prejudices, either.
Reese refused to sign a petition that threatened a boycott if Robinson joined the team. When Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1947 and traveled with them during their first road trip, he was heckled by fans in Cincinnati, Ohio. During pre-game infield practice, Reese, the captain of the team, went over to Robinson, engaged him in conversation, and put his arm around his shoulder in a gesture of support which silenced the crowd. This gesture is depicted in a bronze sculpture of Reese and Robinson, created by sculptor William Behrends, that was placed at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn and unveiled on November 1, 2005.
The friendship between Reese and Robinson is prominent in Roger Kahn’s classic work, The Boys of Summer. At Reese’s funeral, Joe Black, another major league baseball black pioneer, said, “Pee Wee helped make my boyhood dream come true to play in the majors, the World Series. When Pee Wee reached out to Jackie, all of us in the Negro League smiled and said it was the first time that a white guy had accepted us. When I finally got up to Brooklyn, I went to Pee Wee and said, ‘Black people love you. When you touched Jackie, you touched all of us.’ With Pee Wee, it was No. 1 on his uniform and No. 1 in our hearts.”
So today, we honor Jackie Robinson, and can thank him for the many teammates he gave to all of us.
Click here for more on Jackie Robinson Day at www.mlb.com, including videos.
Editor’s note: Why April 15th? Jackie’s debut was on April 15, 1947, following this press release from Branch Rickey the previous day:
“The Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased the contract of Jack Roosevelt Robinson from the Montreal Royals. He will report immediately.”