On the 50th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Major League Baseball retired the number 42 for every club in 1997.
“When Jackie Robinson broke into baseball it was a milestone,” President Bill Clinton declared in the retirement ceremony at Shea Stadium. “It was a milestone for sports, but also a milestone in (a) 50-year effort… A whole series of things happened, and they were triggered by Jackie Robinson.”
Today, on the 75th Anniversary, all 30 clubs will wear a commemorative logo sleeve patch and a ‘42’ cap patch. In addition, all players will wear a ‘Breaking Barriers’ batting practice t-shirt.
Robinson passed away at age-53, more than two decades before the Colorado Rockies would play the first game in franchise history, in that same Shea Stadium where President Clinton, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow, gathered to honor the Civil Rights icon.
Yet, connections between Robinson and the Rockies exist thanks to Senior Director of Major League Operations Paul Egins.
Egins, a graduate of the University of Georgia and mentee of Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, is well aware of the path Jackie blazed even before the rest of the country began to take notice in 1947.
“I didn’t get a chance to meet Jackie, but he was always my dad’s favorite player,” Egins said in his office beside the Rockies clubhouse. “So I always look forward to April 15 to honor and remember what he’s done, starting in the Negro League and being the first African-American player in the Major Leagues.”
Aug 28, 2020; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (21) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field during MLB’s celebration of Jackie Robinson Day. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Last summer, Egins had a personal moment to what we experience every year on this date.
“Having the All-Star Game moved to Denver, I felt it was really special, for me personally, to see the recognition that (Hank Aaron) received here in Colorado. We had the 44 out in right field and all the players were in 44. And then for his wife and family to come out, to get a chance to see them again was quite special for me,” shared the second-longest tenured member of the Rockies.
Batting second and playing first base at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn against the Boston Braves, Robinson debuted as the first African-American since 1884 to play in what we consider the Major Leagues, effectively crossing the color line created and accepted for more than half a century.
One player with connections to both those franchises is current Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman.
During the 2021 All-Star Game festivities, Freeman and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge escorted Billye Aaron, widow of Hank, to home plate during a heartfelt tribute to the man who made 755 the standard for home run excellence.
“Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron have changed the game of baseball, changed life in general,” Freeman told DNVR Sports last week in front of his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Coors Field. “Baseball is such a diverse sport. It’s such a beautiful sport and to have those guys that we keep remembering every year, means so much to so many different people. Seventy-five years since Jackie broke the color barrier is pretty special, so it’s gonna be a special day to wear 42.”
The man credited with helping push forth the retirement of 42 across MLB was National League president Len Coleman, one of the highest-ranking African-American in professional sports history.
“I wanted something not only with the past in mind, but the course it sets for the future,” the honorary chairman of the board of the Jackie Robinson Foundation said at that time. “In a sense, it not only honors Jackie’s achievements, but I believe 42 will provide direction for the future.”
As an added wrinkle this year, all 30 clubs will wear the number 42 in Dodger Blue.
Though Colorado is 16-8 on Jackie Robinson Day, this will be their first time at home since 2012. It is set to be a momentous occasion at Coors Field.
