Baseball’s 2020 Opening Day was scheduled for Thursday, March 26, 2020. Though this year’s opening games were cancelled, hope remains that some of the season may be salvaged. While anticipating baseball’s return, we may still celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 and honor #42.
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
Major League Baseball recognizes Jackie Robinson every year on the anniversary of his first major league Opening Day: April 15, 1947. On that day, all players, coaches, and managers as well as the umpires wear Robinson’s #42. Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers (now Los Angeles Dodgers) ended almost 80 years of segregated baseball. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
In 2016, Robinson’s statue debuted as a key player at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. His statue, sliding safely into a base, is one of six anchoring the museum’s Game Changers exhibit. Game Changers explores the impact of athletes who forced the sports world and larger American society to change their practices, belief systems, and racial politics. While Robinson’s achievements in baseball were significant, his impact on American society was more profound. He transformed the world through the power of sports.
D&P was honored to fabricate and install NMAAHC’s exhibits. Interpreting history through sports at museums and historic sites connects visitors with exciting story lines through a relatable topic. Exhibits explore themes like character, adversity, tradition, and victory--values that relate to the human condition–to connect broad audiences to national sports history.
This year, though we can’t have baseball, we will remember Robinson. View artifacts from the museum’s online exhibit and highlights of all the museum’s exhibits.
