Story by Joseph Moronez
Staff Writer
Sixty-six years after he broke baseball’s color barrier, Jackie Robinson continues to intrigue and excite students.
This month, 42, a movie about Robinson’s historical achievements, has students flocking to theaters. In addition, Major League Baseball celebrated Robinson’s achievement on “Jackie Robinson Day” on April 15 in which every baseball player on every team wore the No. 42. In addition, a new mural at Daytona Beach shows people still trying to make an effort to celebrate Robinson.
“I loved the movie and shows how bad that time was and how Jackie Robinson held his anger back to make a breakthrough in baseball for all races,” junior Sebastian Amarillas said.
The Brooklyn Dodgers drafted Robinson and, on April 15, 1947, he made his Major League debut.
But Robinson means more to America than just baseball, history teacher Mr. Woolsey said.
“The question I ask my class is what’s more important, the fact that Jackie Robinson was black and played baseball or him being Jackie,” Mr. Woolsey said. “The answer is both, he was the first black to play in the majors, but since it was Jackie he was able to hold back his anger and not get disgraced and kicked out.
Robinson would go on to play for nine years with the Brooklyn Dodgers and then retire. His number, 42, would be retired “universally” in 1997, which means his number cannot be worn by any major league team, the first to ever happen.
“I feel that Jackie Robinson Day is important and a fantastic day in sports, while at the same time it was a major breakthrough in U.S. history,” history teacher Mr. Christopher Ulate said.
Ulate said he wonders if Robinson isn’t talked about enough in school.
“I feel that Jackie should be talked about it history classes because like history class, it shows where we have been and that we should not let it happen again,” said Ulate.
