In this week’s edition of “The Showplace,” guest blogger Artie Freeman focuses on the man whose courage and inspiration sparked a day now named in his honor – Jackie Robinson.
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Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919. He’s most famous for breaking baseball’s color line, which excluded Black players from Major League Baseball. MLB had relegated Black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.
In 1950 Jackie Robinson portrayed himself in the biopic, The Jackie Robinson Story. The film focused on Robinson’s journey breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. This film was particularly difficult for Robinson; for starters he wasn’t an actor. Even for the most experienced actor the most difficult role to play is yourself. In addition, Jackie also had to relive the abuse and bigotry he experienced from teammates, opposing teams, and fans to film this movie. This film is not a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s historically significant and more importantly, we have it in our movie vault for you to enjoy!
In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other Black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School, the (OCS). The Army’s initial guidelines for OCS were supposedly race neutral. However, very few Black applicants were admitted into OCS. As a result, the applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months. Joe Louis, the heavyweight boxing champion, was stationed at Fort Riley at the time. When Lewis heard about this, he protested these actions and the men were accepted into OCS. That act of defiance led to a friendship between Robinson and Louis, two men who dominated their sports.
Robinson started playing first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, he was not the best Black player from the Negro League. He was, however, the best Black player who wouldn’t retaliate when confronted by bigotry and racial attacks. Branch Rickey, the General Manager of the Dodgers who spearheaded this project, made it clear that Robinson must never retaliate.
During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947. He was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons and won the National League MVP Award in 1949, becoming the first Black player to be honored. Robinson played in six World Series and took home the championship in 1955.
In 1956 at the age of 37, he retired from baseball to become the first Black Vice-President of a corporation; he worked at Chock Full o’Nuts.
In 1962, Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility, becoming the first Black man to receive that honor.
In 1964, he co-founded the Freedom National Bank, a Black-owned bank in Harlem, New York.
In 1965 Robinson became the first Black MLB television analyst.
Ruby Dee (Robinson’s co-star in The Jackie Robinson Story) and her husband, Ossie Davis, were friends with Jackie and Rachel Robinson. They were also friends of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Dee spoke at both of their funerals.
Jackie Robinson became friends with Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. However, during that period, he was at odds with Malcolm X. They had a very public feud due to their differing philosophies regarding the civil rights movement. Their feud simmered when Malcom X started to feel less hatred towards all white people. When he was assassinated, Jackie was truly saddened by his death. They both had the same destination, racial equality – they just couldn’t agree on the path.
Jackie Robinson died on October 24, 1972 at the young age of 53 of a heart attack. Although I say the young age of 53, Robinson looked like a man in his late 70s, having a full head of grey hair since his early 40s. The years of enduring racial abuse both physically and emotionally had taken their toll on him.
In 1997, MLB retired his uniform #42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, “Jackie Robinson Day”, which began on April 15, 2004. Each year on this date every MLB player across the league wears the #42.
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Artie Freeman provides great introductions to many of the classic movies airing weekly on ATVN’s “Movie Vault” and also hosts “Take 5” interviews featuring unique people and community leaders in our viewing area. Be on the lookout for more of Artie’s insights on this legendary figure, the next time The Jackie Robinson Story airs on ATVN.
Also, be sure to check out our new spring programming lineup on ATVN that will kick off this Sunday. We will be bringing back some popular classic shows to our lineup, plus featuring nostalgic films and TV programs that are new to our network that we think you all will enjoy!
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.