…except in the impact it has on other lives."   -Jackie Robinson.

 

 

It is safe to say that no one, especially another athlete, has impacted more lives than Jackie in the past 100 years.  He opened the door for African-American athletes of multiple generations, as he is regarded as the Barrier Breaker of Baseball.

 

In addition to his ability and talent on the baseball field, Jackie was an all-around natural athlete.  He excelled at every sport he played.  In fact, while at UCLA, Jackie became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1941, he was named to the All-American football team before withdrawing from school due to financial troubles.  That summer, the Chicago Tribune invited Robinson to participate in an all-star game against the Champion Chicago Bears.  Despite the very-much lopsided game, Robinson stood out by scoring a touchdown.  His performance that day landed him a paid roster-spot for the semi-pro and racially integrated, Honolulu Bears. On December 5, 1941, Jackie left Hawaii and headed back to Los Angeles. Two days later, Pearl Harbor was bombed and with that, Jackie was drafted in early 1942.

 

 

 

While achieving the rank of Second-Lieutenant, Jackie was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas.  Interestingly enough, also stationed there was heavyweight boxing champ and Army Private Joe Louis.  Louis, like Robinson, was held in high respects for his athletic talents and also his success in bolstering the American spirit during crucial times; he also desegregated the game of professional golf.  Robinson was honorably discharged from the Army in November, 1944 after court-martial charges against him, for refusing to sit on the back of a bus, had been dropped.

 

 

(Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson at Fort Riley Field in Kansas)

In 1945, Jackie received an offer to play in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs.  He signed on with the team (alongside Satchel Paige) for just one season before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in April 1947.

 

(Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson)

The rest is history.  In the face of racism, on the field and off, Robinson exercised extreme self-control and silently answered insults with his performance.  In his first season, Jackie became Rookie of the Year, and National League MVP just two years later.  He was selected to six all-star teams and became a World Series Champion in 1955.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1962 and jersey number 42 has been retired by all Major League Baseball Teams.

 

Jackie Robinson retired from professional baseball on January 5, 1957.

Built by Dodger owner Charlie Ebbets, fans entered through one of twelve turnstiles to find themselves standing in a grand marble rotunda and would look up only to see a chandelier with twleve baseball bat "arms" holding twelve baseball lamps. After finding their seats fans could follow the official scorer's decision by turning to look at the Schaefer Beer sign in right centerfield where the "h" lit up for a hit and the "e" lit up for an error.

 

Ebbets was the field that not only hosted the 1949 All-Star Game and nine Fall Classics, but was also the very field that Jackie Robinson first stepped upon as the first African American Major League Baseball player.  Sadly for fans, on September 24, 1957 the Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field defeating the Pirates.

 

 

"The Fall of Ebbets"

 

Ebbets Field was a special place
From the excitement of the pennant race

To the agony of losing to the Yankees
But all of Brooklyn cried on their hankies

When the home they called heaven
Was lost in 1957

 

Before they left, it was all going well
The Dodgers were doing kind of swell

In the fall of '55
The whole city was alive

None had a clue that the home they called heaven
Would be lost in 1957

 

That year they finally got over that hump
They finally broke out of the slump

They won a championship for the very first time
They all celebrated from sunrise to bedtime

They finally beat the Yankees in a best-of-seven
Two years before 1957

 

The very next fall, Gil, Campy, and the Duke
Proved that the past year was no fluke

They tasted very little of defeat
They were thinking of repeat

It came down to another game seven
In the place they called heaven

 

They lost and heaven began to crumble
To third place the Dodgers stumble

Then, broke the sad, sad story
That Ebbets would no longer see glory

Everyone knew that the home they called heaven
Would eventually be lost in 1957

 

One final game at Ebbets Field
Even then the Dodgers refused to yield

And with that final victory
Brooklyn baseball was history

Every Brooklynite filled heaven
All knowing it would be gone after 1957

 

Now, it's time to say good-bye
No Brooklynite had a dry eye

The Dodgers had just left town
Leaving Brooklyn with a frown

Brooklyn knew that the home they called heaven
Would soon be no more after 1957

 

Time for heaven to fall
Look out here comes the wrecking ball

With mighty blows from a steel bubble
Ebbets Field became rubble

No more was the home they called heaven
To the ground it went after 1957.

 

Written By: Ridzky A. Riyadi

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/stadium/stadiume.shtml