Should blacks be allowed to play with the likes of white players? On that day, the baseball world took a huge step toward equality and integration among players. One man broke the color barrier, becoming the first black player to join the ranks of white players in Major League Baseball.
He helped the Brooklyn Dodgers, who became the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1950s, to six World Series appearances and helped them win it all in 1955. In his 10-year career, Jackie Robinson won Rookie of the Year in 1947, was named to six-straight National League All-Star teams from 1949 to 1956 and earned the honor of National League's Most Valuable Player in 1949. An inspiration to many, if there is one way to describe his style of play, it'd be encompassed by two words: pure instinct.
And while I wish I could write this column as if I watched Robinson play growing up as a kid, all I can refer to are the classic MLB DVD collections I've accumulated over the years and the countless ESPN Classic documentaries done on Robinson. He was liked by his teammates and eventually won over fans, including white fans who were utterly opposed to the idea of a black man partaking in a "white man's game." He was thick-skinned, never allowing the countless taunts or racial slurs slung his way to affect him, his play or his life.
His widowed wife, Rachel, probably put it best. She said that, to her, he was "Jack," and that to the rest of the baseball world he went by his stage name, "Jackie." A stage name implies some type of show - and did he ever put on a show.
More importantly, though, he played the game how it was supposed to be played: pure. He was an all-around, all-purpose player. He could hit, throw and run.
The base paths were where he was most notorious, as he could unnerve even the most composed pitchers - especially when he was on third and inching closer towards home.
News RSS