What Jackie Robinson Means To Me
- Updated: April 16, 2017
When you mention the name of Jackie Robinson, what do you think? I would like to take a few moments to reflect on what Jackie Robinson means to me.
Growing up in Baltimore, I can remember walking over to Grandpa’s house. He would always be sitting on the front porch with the Baltimore Orioles games on the transistor radio. We would always talk baseball, and he loved Jackie Robinson. The Orioles was his team but he like so many had adopted the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers as his team because of Robinson’s accomplishments.
I can still remember my Grandpa talking about how Robinson stole home in the 1955 World Series and Yogi Berra having a fit with the home plate umpire, that story was Grandpa’s favorite. He told me that this man was so different and unique and how he was a once in a lifetime ballplayer and that some day in the future everyone will be amazed at what he had witnessed. The talk of Jackie Robinson on the baseball diamond would be the start and end of every conversation that we would have until his death.
My father and I would always talk baseball always, just like when he and his dad did before I was born. Every now and then, we talk about Grandpa and Jackie Robinson’s name would always be mentioned.
I have studied the game of baseball all of my life and I noticed that there are several players that true game changers. Ty Cobb was the first player to bring the speed dimension to the game, with his aggressive style. Babe Ruth introduced power and the ability to hit the ball further than anyone else. Ted Williams changed the game with the consistency and hitting the baseball for average, but Jackie Robinson changed everything.
Just imagine if there was no Jackie Robinson, there would be no Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Larry Doby, Roberto Clemente, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson and so on. Robinson was a true trailblazer that stood up and went through some of the most unimaginable things any human had to endure in any lifetime.
When others would have given up under the circumstances, Jackie made courage his middle name under fire.
My words cannot express enough the appreciation for my fellow serviceman and true humanitarian has done for myself and the rest of the world. He simply wanted something that the world is in needs of today, equality.
Before his death in 1972, he spoke about having equality and giving the opportunity for minorities to be able to manage on the field and move into the front office, I think that Jackie would have been really proud of Frank Robinson just three years later.
In closing, thank you, Jackie Robinson, for paving the way for so many players of color to make it to the big leagues. Thanks for being humble, patience and kind and having the mindset of giving for greater than yourself. Also thanks for giving my Grandpa lifetime memories and having a worldwide impact on all of us.
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