All MLB players wear number 42 on Jackie Robinson Day. Photo: LR / MLB / AFP Composition
he Jackie Robinson Day It is one of the most important in the Major League Baseball (MLB) calendar. Every April 15th, stadiums run across the length and breadth United State They wear their best clothes and the players of the 30 championship teams wear the number 42 on their shirts, which is what distinguished this legendary player. Who was she and when is this anniversary celebrated?
Access Jackie Robinson It marked a before and after in the major leagues, so much so that it opened doors for many players who left outstanding legacies in the sport. All this, at a time when racial prejudices and inequalities regarding civil rights were common in the North American country.
Who was Jackie Robinson?
Jack Roosevelt Robinson He was an American baseball player who became the first African American player in Major League Baseball history. He was born in Cairo, Georgia, in 1919, and from there he was removed to Pasadena, California, the following year. His grandfather was a slave.
It was in this city that Robinson took his undergraduate studies at UCLA, where he excelled in the disciplines of athletics, basketball, American football, and baseball, ending up choosing the latter sport.
Jackie Robinson played the 1945 season in the Negro League. The following year, he moved up to the minor leagues. Photo: LR Configuration/National Baseball Hall of Fame
In 1945, Jackie worked as a player for the Kansas City Monarchs Negro unions. Those were the times when Racist players banned in MLB, So they migrated frequently to other countries, such as Mexico, where they were treated as idols.
Things changed when Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler authorized the signing of black players in the minor leagues. In 1946, Robinson moved to the Royals Montreal, an affiliate of the Royals Dodgers in the International Association. It was this team that gave him the opportunity to play in the major leagues for the first time on April 15, 1947.
The Big Top soon gave up before his good play: he finished the 1947 season with an average of 247.29 stolen bases and 125 runs scored, earning him Rookie of the Year. In 1949, it became most valuable player342 average and 124 RBIs. He led the Dodgers to six World Championships and was to seven All-Star Games.
Why is Jackie Robinson Day celebrated?
On April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball, All 30 MLB teams have retired the #42 this player wore, In recognition of the moment when this tournament ceased to be considered exclusive to the “whites”.
Seven years later, in 2004, then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig and Jackie’s daughter, Sharon Robinson, announced that the date would be celebrated in the league. MLB founders and founders Jackie Robinson, as well as his widow, Rachel, led the ceremony at Shea Stadium in New York, which has been replicated at 12 other venues.
Jackie Robinson has become one of the Dodgers’ major stars in MLB. Photo: Jackierobinson.com
The following year, MLB officially declared April 15th. like Jackie Robinson Day. “On that day, Jackie broke the color barrier and ushered in an era when baseball became a truly national pastime,” Selig said at the time.
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