Today marks the 61st anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson put on a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform and played a regular season game breaking the color barrier in baseball. On that day, Major League Baseball was changed forever. It took incredible courage for Mr. Robinson to take the field that day. He had to endure threats and racial slurs from fans, opposing players, teammates and even coaches, but that didn’t deter him from playing the game he loved. He retired from baseball in 1956 but it wasn’t until 1997 when MLB retired his number, 42, across the board. Today to commemorate the anniversary, the commissioner will allow players to wear the No. 42 for one day only. 330 players, managers, and coaches will don the scared number. There are several teams where every player and coach will wear No. 42. Those teams are the Dodgers, Cardinals, A’s, Angels, Pirates, Rangers, Rays, Mets, and Nationals. The rest of the teams will have at least one player wearing the number during their games. I am glad that MLB is allowing this to happen and to honor a person who truly changed the landscape of sports.
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