Imagine watching a baseball game where you were given a seat
based on your race and the game was special not because of who won
or lost but because one of the players was black.
UCLA baseball coach Gary Adams remembers a game like that.
Today marks a special day in baseball, sports, American and UCLA
history.
On this day 57 years ago, UCLA alumnus Jackie Robinson broke
Major League Baseball’s color barrier by being the
league’s first black player.
“I was so young I didn’t realize the magnitude of
what was going on,” Adams said.
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has declared every April 15 from now
on to be Jackie Robinson Day, a day honoring the enduring impact of
Jackie Robinson’s legacy.
This is a great move by Selig ““ not just in the interest
of the sport he governs but for sports and sports fans
everywhere.
Back in 1947, the Negro Leagues still existed. The Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was only 18 years old. Rosa Parks was still
eight years away from refusing to give up her seat.
Robinson was an early pioneer of equal rights without being
outspoken.
Several stories about Robinson show that, even though he was a
four-sport star at UCLA, Robinson was humble off the field.
He had to be.
Robinson was intensely verbally attacked because of his skin
color. The stadium that historically treated Robinson the worst was
Cincinnati’s Crosley Field.
Adams saw Robinson play for the first time while attending a
game at Crosley Field as a child.
The game was between the Cincinnati Reds and Robinson’s
Brooklyn Dodgers. Adams couldn’t exactly remember the year,
but he does know it was not that long after Robinson entered the
major leagues.
“I remember seeing a lot of black people there all sitting
in the same section because they had to ““ and all rooting for
Jackie,” Adams said.
For those of you who don’t remember your history, blacks
and whites were segregated so much back then that whites and blacks
had different restaurants, waiting rooms, rest rooms, drinking
fountains and even places to sit at some ballparks.
Meanwhile, Robinson received death threats from the white people
at Crosley Field, Adams said.
“Now, people don’t even think about the difference
between the two races,” Adams said.
It took a lot of courage for Robinson and those around him
(legendary Dodger executive Branch Rickey and teammate Pee Wee
Reese) to change sports so radically.
Robinson had to endure the insults. Rickey had to endure being
insulted himself when he signed Robinson. And Reese is well known
for putting his arm around Robinson at Crosley Field in a sign of
acceptance.
If sports were still segregated today, or even past 1947, think
of all of the great athletes who would’ve missed out on an
opportunity to showcase their talents and become heroes for the
future generation.
Adams uses Jackie Robinson as an inspiration for his current
players.
UCLA’s baseball stadium, Jackie Robinson Stadium, is named
for the legend.
There is a statue of Robinson outside of the ballpark and a
giant picture of him in the team clubhouse.
“I want my players to play like Jackie,” Adams said.
“He was the best hustler I’d seen.”
Robinson’s legacy lives on with tributes like those by
Major League Baseball and UCLA.
“I’m so proud of the fact that I’ve been able
to coach where Jackie Robinson played,” Adams said.
Robinson’s legacy should live on forever. He changed
sports more than anyone else ever.
E-mail Quiñonez at gquinonez@media.ucla.edu.