PHILADELPHIA — When Jackie Robinson stepped out on to Ebbets Field in 1947 in the alabaster Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, “American apartheid flashed into view like wicked lightning,” in the words of author Roger Kahn. A tempest of change had arrived and its impact would be felt across America extending way beyond the playing field.
Friday marks the 75th anniversary of Robinson becoming the first African American to play in a Major League Baseball game when his Dodgers took on the Boston Braves. All players will wear Robinson’s No. 42 in “Dodger Blue” on their uniforms as part of MLB’s celebration.
Robinson’s story is a passion play that needs to be told repeatedly and should never be allowed to become covered in dust and faded in sepia. It is a living story, an American story. It is triumphant, it is heartbreaking, it is inspiring. It should not be watered down or reshaped into something less indicting of America’s history of racism.
Nor should the tale be restricted to the baseball field because his actions produced concentric waves of change that extended far beyond Ebbets Field, creating hope where there was none and opening doors of possibility. Robinson was a civil rights activist in a baseball uniform.
What follows are the thoughts of individuals — athletes, community activists, journalists, and artists — on Robinson’s legacy and his influence on their own lives.
Claire Smith
— Born in Langhorne, Pa., and a graduate of Temple University, Smith became the first female Major League Baseball beat writer in 1983, covering the New York Yankees for the Hartford Courant. Smith later worked for The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and ESPN. She was the first woman to receive the J.G. Taylor Spink Award and was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017.
“I think that he’s still relevant, and will be our responsibility to use these anniversaries to continue to reach back to the younger people and say, ‘Let’s talk about Jackie Robinson. Did you ask them why his statistics are the least important thing about Jackie Robinson? Who is more important in our history during the second half of the 20th century than Jackie Robinson? Who can you point to as a singular individual who changed the way a country looked at race?’
“And so much so that a man as great as Dr. King says, there would be no Martin Luther King if it were not for Jackie Robinson. That’s no small statement. And it’s probably true ... Well, Jackie, didn’t make championships. He made change for people who never even looked at a baseball game. He changed a country.”
Milt Thompson
— Thompson is one of three Phillies to go to a World Series as a player (1993) and as a coach (2008, 2009). Thompson played for six teams during his 12-year major league career.
“The pressure had to be amazing. I can’t even fathom it, you know, how much pressure he was under. He blows up and does something wrong, we’re done. You know, basically, he had to really be on top of his game and understand the pressures that he was going to go through… I would say I think a lot of the stress and stuff he went through shortened his life because it was just so hard, you know, to get through what he was going through. I remember seeing the movie (“42″) and seeing the Phillies scene [in which Robinson was harassed with racist taunts by Phillies manager Ben Chapman]. Oh my goodness, the strength that it took.
“Later on, man, just talking with my dad and my grandfather and my uncle who all played baseball, and let me understand that it was two different leagues back then. I really didn’t understand that until I got to Little League. And we talked more about what the situation was and how he crossed the line and changed baseball forever.”
Sean Gibson
— Gibson is the great grandson of Negro League great and Hall of Famer Josh Gibson. He’s also the Executive Director of the Josh Gibson Foundation which provides athletic and academic programs for youth.
“What if Jackie had failed? It already took a long time for Major League Baseball to take a chance on an African American player. If Jackie had failed or not been as successful as he was, who knows how long that would have taken another manager or an owner to take a chance on another Black player?
“I think the most important piece about Jackie Robinson is not about his baseball greatness, but what he did off the field. We don’t talk about that enough … He was a great humanitarian and a great African American leader for all African Americans at that time ... He’s a great baseball player, but what he did off the field is more important than what he did on the field.”
Mo’ne Davis
— Davis, a softball player at Hampton University, was the first girl to earn a win and pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history in 2014. She graced the cover of Sports Illustrated for her LLWS performance and gave new meaning to the phrase “throw like a girl,” becoming an inspiration for young women.
“I just think about all the hardships that he went through just to play a sport that he loved and how he pushed for Black players in baseball. It gave me the opportunity as a Black woman to play in what we all know is a male-dominated sport, and a white-dominated sport as well. Just reading about everything that he’s done, listening to everything that he’s done really just motivates you and inspires you to be the next Jackie Robinson, the next one to break those barriers and push that glass ceiling open. So I always just think about the hard times that he went through just so people like me and my teammates get the chance to play.
“Jackie Robinson’s quote — ‘A life is not important except in the impact that has on other lives’ — that quote, it kind of puts things in perspective. I feel like playing on the Anderson Monarchs, literally, wasn’t just for me, it was for everyone else who inspired me to play baseball. It was for a lot of little girls who look like me, or just little girls in general who want to play baseball, but didn’t think that they could. That quote resonates with me because it inspires and helps gives other people a chance.”
Kyle Morris
— On New Year’s Day 2013, Morris was shot six times and his friend died in the emergency room next to him. He founded The Education Culture Opportunities Foundation to help his West Philadelphia community through education, arts, and distributing 40,000 pounds of food each week. For Juneteenth Day 2020, he helped organize the Black Brotherly Love Silent March on 52nd Street, walking in silence with their mouths taped shut to remind Black men to speak up.
“I remember, you know, drawing pictures of Jackie Robinson when I was a kid in school for Black History Month. … But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that it’s always been bigger than baseball. … When I think about legacy, he’s taught little boys and girls and everyone in between all over the world that you can chase your dreams, you will face adversity, you will fall down and get back up, you will take your people with you, you will make sure you leave a legacy for generations and generations to come. And we were still talking about him today. And I don’t think that it’ll ever stop. And as long as I’m on this planet, and my 30 years of life and the many years ahead of me, I’m gonna make sure these young people know about Jackie Robinson as well.
“So, there’s a saying that’s really old. It’s ‘Respect existence, or expect resistance.’ And when I think of Jackie Robinson, every time he stepped on that field, it was an act of resistance. So that was his art form of doing so. He’s an athlete. But it shows young people today that whether they’re using a camera phone, or they’re using their fingers to type something, or they use a marker, or spray paint, or their bodies, we are all artists in our own way. And we have a responsibility to resist injustice. So when you see us marching, when you see us chanting, when you see us teaching, when you see us loving each other, those are acts of resistance, joy in itself as an act of resistance in the fact that he still had joy and was able to smile and work side by side with people who didn’t look like him after being treated unfairly.”
Chuck Styles
— Styles is an artist in the Philadelphia area known for his paintings featuring African American culture and historical icons as well as the work he does for Topps baseball cards.
“For me as an artist that continues to enter in these new arenas, where I might be one of the only Black artists, seeing what he went through and seeing the legacy that he built is definitely inspiring. I don’t think that I’d be the artist that I currently am without his legacy to help guide me.
“When I’m tasked with any project, I like to completely immerse myself into the subject matter … because I like to bring a lot of nuances into my artwork … One of the things that I became aware of was understanding who Jackie Robinson was … And it was an eye-opener because here I am in 2022, being able to live a very successful life as an artist and freely do that. So to understand what he went through as a high class professional baseball player, it was a little heartbreaking. But once again, I want to just thank him for being the man that he was. Because without him, there will be no me.”
Ozzie Smith
— Nicknamed “The Wizard of Oz” Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals. Smith was a 15-time All-Star and won 13 consecutive National League Gold Glove Awards. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.
“Anytime you’re a pioneer, you’re paving the way for other people. He made it possible for myself and other African American players to have the opportunity to make the living that we did. People often ask me what were the things that I had to deal with. And I say, nothing that I had to deal with in my playing career, could compare to what Jackie had to deal with in being a pioneer. And so we can’t be grateful enough for all of the commitment and the sacrifice that he made to afford us the opportunity to do what we love to do.
“A lot of us are just hoping that things don’t go back to where they were before he afforded us the opportunity. So his impact has been immense and it continues to be today because we continue the struggle.”
Bill Mazeroski
— Mazeroski was known as “The Glove” for his skill on the field during his 17-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mazeroski hit a walk-off home run to end the 1960 World Series and give the Pirates the championship over the heavily favored Yankees. He was also a member of the Pirates’ 1971 championship team. He was elected in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
“Well, it was a long time ago, it was 1956, that’s the first year I came up. So I just remember facing him, and I was in awe looking at him and watching him play. Because I had read about him, heard about him so much before that and just to see him, I was just thrilled to death. It was an amazing situation … He was a great baseball player. He was fantastic. It’s just that I don’t know why it took so long for Blacks to get to get the opportunity to play in the big leagues. I just thought everybody should be able to play.”
Ryan Howard
— Howard played for the Phillies from 2004-16. He won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the National League MVP in 2006. He was the fastest player in MLB history to hit 100 and 200 career home runs. He helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series.
“Jackie’s legacy is everything. I mean, it’s what’s paved the way and helped give me the opportunity to play. I think there’s a strength in how he went out and played through everything. You just want to be one of those guys that’s coming down the line. And you pay homage by going out there and trying to play the same way that he did, and those that came before me did … I definitely think he’s still very relevant. I know to Black ballplayers for sure. The historical value of what he’s done for the game, for baseball as a whole is something that should never be forgotten and will never be forgotten.”
Taj Murdock
— Murdock is CEO and director of The Empowerment Achievement Movement, Inc. (T.E.A.M., Inc) and founder of the Men of Courage mentoring program. Murdock, like Kyle Morris, is one of the organizers of Black Brotherly Love.
“Our ancestors and the ones that have gone before, like Jackie, had more courage with less resources. Now we have more resources, but less courage. They understood what the fight was and that they weren’t doing it just for themselves. It was bigger than they were. They were doing it for the culture. They were doing it for their communities. That’s their legacy. So nowadays, we have to have the same mindset. So for me, that’s my whole lineage that I’m working towards now. What will my legacy be? And that’s what I strive to do with Men of Courage (mentoring young men).”
Lincoln University basketball team
— Inspired by Robinson, Colin Kaepernick and the deaths Brianna Taylor and George Floyd, Lanier and the Lincoln University women’s basketball team stood for Lift Every Voice and Sing and knelt for the national anthem before their games during the 2021-22 season. The team won the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament, clinching a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
— Jaleesa Lanier, freshman guard: “I think Jackie opened doors for younger kids, and gave them hope that one day they could see themselves in this position, and he really just opened the door for them. I think that’s important. That’s just like when Barack Obama became President, I think a lot of people gained hope from him, like they could see themselves one day aspiring to be like Barack or like Jackie Robinson.”
Steve Bandura
— Bandura started the Jackie Robinson League which became the Anderson Monarchs in 1995. The program, which stresses academics as well as athletics, has done several barnstorming tours across the country in a 1947 bus to pay homage to Robinson, Negro League baseball and the civil rights movement.
“Jackie Robinson is the ultimate role model for our kids and inspiration for our Anderson Monarchs program. He forced the nation to confront what writer James Baldwin referred to as “the big lie” — the belief in the inherent superiority of white people — a belief that, unfortunately, is still widely embraced today. Jackie shattered those beliefs and showed what’s possible when equal opportunity exists. And that is at the heart of the mission of the Monarchs organization. We try to honor Jackie’s legacy — to impact other lives — by opening doors and providing opportunities for all kids to realize their potential both on and off the playing field. Jackie Robinson is a true American hero.”
Scott Bandura
— Bandura plays baseball for Princeton. He is a former member of the Anderson Monarchs and in 2014 played for the Taney Dragons in the Little League World Series.
“So from Day 1, Jackie was huge. For all of us with the Anderson Monarchs it was one of the first lessons my dad (coach Steve Bandura) taught us about so that we knew the why we get to play this game and the sacrifice that was that came before us to allow us to have all these great opportunities that we’ve had over the years. And that was just something that myself and none of my teammates ever forgot.”
