On Jackie Robinson Day, 78 years were commemorated since this iconic player broke the color barrier in baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
His legacy continues to inspire figures both inside and outside of Major League Baseball.
Tribute at the Diamond
Dodgers players and staff, including Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and rookie Roki Sasaki, along with the Colorado Rockies, gathered around the Robinson statue in the Dodger Stadium Centerfield Plaza, hours before the game.
Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who turns 78, joined them. He recalled his childhood in Manhattan, where he used to wear a Dodgers cap.
I used to fight with Giants and Yankees people often, but I kept my cap on and nobody could take it off me. I was very tall.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Abdul-Jabbar, who followed in Robinson’s footsteps as a sports star at UCLA, where he won three national championships, considers Robinson a constant inspiration.
He meant excellence, giving it your all, giving your best, and ignoring all the detractors that exist and moving forward.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In a sign of respect, all the teams that played that day wore jerseys with the number 42, the only number universally retired in Major League Baseball.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts emphasized the importance of keeping Robinson’s legacy alive.
We understand what this man did for our world, our country. This is how you live life. This is something for me, to keep his legacy lit.
Dave Roberts
Roberts and Ron Washington of the Angels are the only African-American managers currently in the majors.
Roberts added that Robinson understood from early on that life would be difficult, but that he was destined to overcome obstacles.
He was special and was put in this position to rise up and know that it’s not just about the game of baseball. It’s bigger than him.
Dave Roberts
The Family Legacy
Sonya Pankey Robinson, Jackie and Rachel Robinson’s eldest granddaughter, and only daughter of Jackie Jr., who passed away in a car accident, was present at the event, along with her daughter Ayo Robinson.
He was so forward-thinking in so many ways. When I think of him fondly, I just think of all his contributions to society and to us as a family. I feel a real responsibility to uphold his values, and I take that job very seriously.
Sonya Pankey Robinson
Rachel Robinson, 102-year-old widow of Jackie, celebrated the anniversary at the Jackie Robinson Museum in Brooklyn alongside MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
Pankey Robinson, who threw the ceremonial first pitch, mentioned that his grandmother instilled important values in the family.
Jackie Robinson made headlines last month when a page from the Department of Defense describing his military service was restored after being deleted.
Discouraging, but not disheartened because I believe what he did is etched in history and it’s no one else’s place to eliminate that. His impact is great and we feel good knowing that, although disappointed, what he did mattered.
Sonya Pankey Robinson
Angels’ Ron Washington learned about Robinson by buying a book about him in 1972.
I was just so struck by what he had to go through just to play baseball, and then you look back and say, ‘Wow, in this period, could I have done it?’ I want to think I could, but I don’t know if I could.
Ron Washington
Aaron Boone, Yankees manager, called Robinson “one of the most important figures in the history of the United States.”
Obviously, it was part of the integration of our sport, but part of the subsequent integration of the United States and other sports. It’s great what we can do today, and everyone using 42, drawing attention and simply honoring what is an amazing legacy.
Aaron Boone
