Everyone's a Dodger Fan Today

Today is April 15, deadline day for Americans still trying to file their income taxes (Relax...in 2007 we have until the 16th)

Baseball fans, however, know that today marks the sixtieth anniversary of the game where Jackie Robinson did the unthinkable; he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Los Angelenos should be very proud of this native son because he led a remarkable life.  University of Southern California graduate, commissioned officer in the United States Army, and then his remarkable achievements on the diamond.  Notwithstanding the historical significance of his career, Jackie Robinson was  the 1949 MVP and held a .311 lifetime batting average, truly Hall of Fame statistics. 

This picture shows Jackie stealing home in the 1955 World Series against the Dodgers.  Stealing home is an amazing feat and hardly ever attempted in the modern game.

My father, a lifelong baseball fan, described the love/hate relationship Phillies fans had with Robinson in the '50s.  "They would call him ugly names so he stole second base.  Pitchers would throw at him and Jackie would score the winning run. They hated that a black man could do something  their hometown boys could not; win baseball games for his team".  I asked him one time if the hype about Robinson was really  justified.  I queried whether his hero status was just  a function of being the first black man in the game.  My father just shook his head and lamented, "Nope.  He was really THAT good."

I asked my dad if he hated Jackie Robinson as a kid in Philly.  He said, "Of course.  He was a Dodger."

I think Jackie would have respected that sort of "hatred".

Click the link to hear the Count Basie song, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?"

Comments

[Brian Brady]

I wrote this Sunday morning, 12 hours before the Padres/Dodgers game tonight on ESPN (and at Chavez Ravine). As of now, both teams are tied at one game a piece in the series.

I won't be cheering for the Dodgers tonight.

[CJ, Broker in NELA, CA]

Friday was all Dodgers, Saturday was all Padres ... Today otta be a good one!

[Brian Brady]

The Dodgers win, the Dodgers win...the dreaded Dodgers win.

They served the Friars their first lost series this year.

Today was a great day for baseball and America. Lots of cool tributes today. I will say that I am furious that the San Diego fish wrap had baseball's drug problem on the front page and this story buried on page six of the Sports section.