Yesterday marked 61 years since Jackie Robinson shattered Major League Baseball’s color barrier with equal parts talent, courage and class.
He did it with the Brooklyn Dodgers, of course – the team he would lead to six National League pennants over his 10-year career.
But yesterday it was the New York Mets who gave Robinson a fitting tribute, just as they reaffirmed their place in New York City’s storied baseball tradition.
Rachel Robinson, Jack’s widow, was on hand as the Amazins dedicated Jackie Robinson Rotunda, the stately main entrance to their new ballpark, Citi Field.
The Rotunda will feature a statue of Robinson’s classic No. 42 uniform, as well as an engraving of his memorable quote, “A life is not important, except for the impact it has on other lives.”
It’s a fitting citation for a man whose quiet sense of dignity helped him blaze a trail for the civil-rights movement, even as the full-scale integration he sparked elevated competition throughout the sport.
And the Mets, as heirs to the proud New York National League tradition that went west with the Dodgers and the Giants, are just the team to honor him.
Indeed, Jackie Robinson Rotunda deliberately evokes the grand gateway to Brooklyn’s old Ebbets Field, where Robinson birthed an era many New Yorkers still recall with special fondness.
No doubt that now he’ll live in the city’s heart for years to come.