Jackie Robinson Day
Since 2004, Major League Baseball (MLB)—and baseball fans—have celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, to commemorate his first day in the major leagues on April 15, 1947. That was the day he broke baseball’s “color barrier” and became the first Black player in MLB “since 1889, when baseball became segregated.” Beginning in 2009, MLB has requested “that every player and all on-field personnel wear his No. 42 during games scheduled on Jackie Robinson Day.” This is the only time the number 42 is worn by any player after it was retired by every MLB team in 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his major league debut.
Due to a delayed and shortened baseball season for public health reasons in 2020, Jackie Robinson Day was held on August 28, 2020; however, MLB still celebrated on April 15 with a series of virtual programming. August 28 was not an arbitrary date, though. On August 28, 1945, Jackie Robinson first met “with Brooklyn Dodgers president and general manager Branch Rickey,” which ultimately led to Jackie playing with the Dodgers in 1947. In addition, August 28, 1963, was the date of the March on Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
But the accolades and respect for Jackie are not where this story begins; there was a lot to overcome before reaching this point.
Life during Baseball
On the field, Jackie was an outstanding ball player, and was selected as Rookie of the Year in 1947 and Most Valuable Player in 1949. On and off the field, he was met with subtle and blatant racist attacks, including “ugly remarks, death threats, and Jim Crow laws that forbade a Black player to stay in hotels or eat in restaurants with the rest of his team.”
Through it all, Jackie was expected to control his temper and not fight back, so that it would not “hurt integration’s chances for success.” In fact, “During a legendary meeting [Branch] Rickey shouted insults at Robinson, trying to be certain that Robinson could accept taunts without incident.” Jackie reportedly said, “Plenty of times I wanted to haul off when somebody insulted me for the color of my skin, but I had to hold to myself. I knew I was kind of an experiment. The whole thing was bigger than me.”
Jackie is quoted as saying, the “way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.”
Life after Baseball
Jackie retired from baseball in 1957, after which he “engaged in business and in civil rights activism.” Some of his achievements after baseball included:
Starred in “The Jackie Robinson Story” in 1950.
Opened a men’s apparel store on 125th street in Harlem from 1952-1958.
Signed a contract with WNBC and WNBT to serve as Director of Community Activities in 1952.
Became Vice President of Chock Full O’Nuts in 1957.
Served in numerous campaigns and on the board of directors for the NAACP from 1957-1967.
Established the Jackie Robinson Construction Company in 1970 to build housing for families with low incomes.
Author of autobiography “I Never Had It Made.”
Jackie died on October 24, 1972, shortly after he “was selected to throw out the first pitch at the 1972 World Series, the 25th anniversary of his breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier.” In addition, “In 1984 Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest [honor] for an American civilian.”
In 1973, Jackie’s wife, Rachel Robinson, founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which “has advanced higher education by providing generous, multi-year scholarship awards coupled with a comprehensive set of support services to highly motivated JRF Scholars and Extra Innings Fellows attending colleges and universities throughout the country.”
Jackie once said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Given the annual celebration in his honor, it is safe to say his life had an important, lasting impact on many others.