Jackie Robinson's Enduring Legacy
A Baseball Afterlife Worthy of an American Hero.
Jackie Robinson's life after baseball was marked by great efforts and great honors. He and Babe Ruth are the most important ballplayers of all time.
After the 1956 season, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded the rights to Jackie Robinson to the New York Giants for Dick Littlefield and $30,000 in cash. Robinson didn’t want to go over to the hated rivals so late in his career. So he retired instead.
Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights Leader
Robinson’s post-baseball life was remarkable in itself. He increased his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement, taking part in the historic “March on Washington” with Martin Luther King in 1963. Robinson also became a member of the board of directors of the NAACP in 1957 and held that position until 1967. Robinson was a central figure in the Civil Rights Movement, as evidenced by this quote: "It is up to us in the north to provide aid and support to those who are actually bearing the brunt of the fight for equality down south. America has its iron curtain too."
The Hall of Fame Comes Calling
In 1962, Robinson was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. He was the first African-American to be so honored. Robinson stayed involved in baseball for his entire post-playing life. He badly wanted to become a coach or a manager for a professional team, but baseball did not respond to his wishes. Robinson made his last public appearance during the 1972 World Series, and used the opportunity to discuss the need for baseball to hire a black manager. Robinson died just ten days after the appearance due to complications from heart disease and diabetes.
Posthumous Honors for Jackie Robinson
In 1984, Major League Baseball named its Rookie of the Year award after Robinson. That same year, Ronald Reagan awarded Robinson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest official honor for a civilian.
In 1997, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s debut, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Jackie’s number, 42, would be retired by every baseball franchise. Only those players who wore the number at that time could hold onto it until they retired or left their team. By the beginning of the 2007 Major League Baseball season, only Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees was still protected by this grandfather clause. Because Rivera is 38 years old, it is a matter of a few years before Robinson’s number will only be seen on outfield walls, and not on player’s backs. It is a fitting tribute.
Some Final thoughts on Jackie Robinson
As the 60th anniversary of Robinson’s legendary debut nears, and we get ready for Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, 2007, it may be best to honor him with the words of the man himself, and quotes about Jackie Robinson from the great ballplayers who are still in his debt.
“Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." - Robinson
“Above anything else, I hate to lose” - Robinson
Every time I look at my wallet, I see Jackie Robinson.” - Willie Mays
“If I were in Jackie’s shoes, I probably never would have made it” - Bob Gibson
“Jackie Robinson was undoubtedly the best athlete ever to play Major League Baseball.”- Ralph Kiner
"After the game, Jackie came into our clubhouse and shook my hand. He said, 'You're a helluva ballplayer and you've got a great future.’ I became a fan of Jackie’s on the spot. Here was a player who had suffered more abuse and more taunts and more hatred than any player in history, and he made a special effort to compliment and encourage a young white kid from Oklahoma." - Mickey Mantle
High and worthy praise indeed.
