This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's history making entry into Major League baseball. Having grown up facing prejudice and racism in his hometown, and in the United States military during World War II, Jackie knew full well the importance of what he represented to Black America the day he first played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Named Rookie of the Year that season, Jackie demonstrated, as Jim Thorpe and Jesse Owens did before him, that talent, class, and integrity know no color, or race. In an age where athletes seem to be more known for their fighting, raping, drug use, and cheating at their respective sports by using performance enhancing drugs, Jackie stands as an example of what is the best not only in sport, but humanity as well.
I should also take a moment to mention Branch Rickie, then owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who made the historic decision to hire Jackie, and break baseball's color barrier.
So as long as we're on the subject of integrity in sports, let me not fail to mention the anti-Jackie; Barry Bonds. Barry you're an egomaniac and a cheat. Your career is a fraud, and no one but you is going to recognize you surpassing Hank Aaron's career homerun record (hey Mark Mcguire, guess what? You didn't break Roger Maris' single season homerun record you douche). If there is any integrity left in Major League baseball (a highly debatable notion) then you will never be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Never. Not ever. You suck. Hank Aaron has more talent and integrity then you could ever hope to even pray to possess. The only sentences in which your name and Hank Aaron's should appear together are these: "Barry Bonds will never break Hank Aaron's record because Bonds is a cheat," and "Hank Aaron is one of baseball's greatest players, but Barry Bonds is a colossal fraud."
Bud Selig (another worm at baseball's rotten core), has said that any player who desires to wear Jackie's number 42 this weekend may do so to remember the greatness of the man. Barry, if I hear you wore his number I just may vomit.
Here's to you Jackie, a real hero, not only to sport, but to the human spirit.
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1 comment:
As a lifelong Phillies fan, I must acknowledge the bad history in Philadelphia. Of all the National League teams, the Phillies reaction to Robinson's presence was the most hostile. Two examples: The Phillies' general manager threatened to refuse to let his team take the field if Robinson played. There were accounts reported of Phillies players in 1947 holding up bats like guns and making shooting noises.
It was not until 1957, a whole decade later, that the first black Phillies player took the field - John Kennedy played just five games. The Phillies did not have their first black star player until 1964 when Richie Allen came along and was NL rookie of the year. Many believe that the long-running refusal of the Phillies to play black players was a major factor in the Phillies being a losing team for years.
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