Baseball is commonly called “America’s pastime.” For many years, it was. The sport used to be the most watched in the country and a tradition handed down from father to son, both of which idolized the all-stars from their favorite team. For decades, however, baseball typified some of America’s most deep-rooted ills.
Of course, we’re referring to segregation.
Major League Baseball (MLB) didn’t allow minorities to play professional baseball until 1947. For years, Black and Brown players were confined to the “Negro Leagues,” which were made up of all-minority teams. But then, Jackie Robinson came along and changed history. After graduating as a multi-sport superstar from UCLA, Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs before Branch Rickey, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, pulled him halfway across the country. After working his way up from the farm league, Robinson played for the Dodgers and the rest is history.
That’s one way the story gets told. It’s a story that gives too much credit to Rickey, a white man, for a Black man’s achievements.
Robinson only found professional baseball after being honorably discharged for refusing to give up his seat on the bus. It was his athletic prowess that allowed him to make the majors so quickly. After all, in ten seasons with the Dodgers, Robinson logged six pennant victories, a World Series win, the MLB Rookie of the Year award, and a National League MVP award. Along the way, Robinson endured discrimination and racism from fans, his opponents, society at large, and even his own teammates.
Rickey was later documented as saying it was a “noble experiment,” a line that grabs the credit of breaking the color barrier for himself, rather than lauding one of the greatest professional athletes of all time.
We see the same story play out everywhere, but especially in sports. Black athletes are never given their due. In fact, the FBI has targeted several Black athletes throughout history, including Jack Johnson, Jesse Owens, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and yes, Jackie Robinson. They didn’t commit any crime, nor did they deserve such scrutiny. They were simply Black and better at their trade than white athletes.
The next time you tell the story of Jackie Robinson, leave Branch Rickey out of it. That’s the story we all know – the one immortalized in popular culture. But to tell that story as so many do takes credit away from one of the sport’s finest heroes.
Now, Jackie Robinson’s jersey number, 42, is the only number retired league-wide by the MLB. That’s an honor bestowed upon only one other North American professional athlete – Wayne Gretzky. Robinson’s achievements, on the field and off, certainly mandate such recognition.
