Today on the blog, the next stage in the iconic career of the great Jackie Robinson in my 1972 25th anniversary sub-set celebrating his Major League debut, his Big League debut of 1947:
To
much hoopla, both good and sadly bad, Robinson was set to make his
Major League debut as the first African-American player since the late
19th Century.
And
so on Opening Day, April 15th, Jackie was penciled in at first base
against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, and history was made, though I
wish there was NO history that needed to be made in the first place.
Jackie went 0-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, as the Brooklyn Dodgers would go on to win the game 5-3.
I cannot even begin to imagine the
difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a
Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in
1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949
when he hit .342.
Before he made
baseball history in 1947, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945 while he was
still in college.
He played in only 47 games, but excelled,
hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the
East-West All Star Game.
At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.
It still crushes me when I
remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed
away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing
us into the 21st Century.
An American Legend.