Tag Archives: new york giants
February 12, 2019 · 23:25
"We'll Lick This Someday" But Will Someday Ever Come: Jackie Robinson, Branch Rickey, and Charles Thomas
John Jorgensen, Pee Wee Reese, Ed Stanky and Jackie Robinson on opening day 1947
Friends of Padre Steve's World.
Pitchers and catchers reported to training camps in Florida and Arizona today and will continue reporting tomorrow. Thursday is a Valentine's Day and thank God Easter falls late this year so it doesn't coincide with Ash Wednesday.
For the Baseball purist, the Priest and the inept romantic the combination is quite juxtaposing. For the fact of the matter I don't do either Lent which Ash Wednesday begins or Valentine's Day very well, thankfully Lent doesn't begin for a few more weeks.
That being the case I routinely screw both of the up and as hard as I try I struggle to reach the Mendoza Line in either one. Of course that leaves baseball which for me is a religion, as well as a social commentary on America, our values, and virtues, despite the fact that I also find much truth in Soccer, or as most of the world calls it Football. But I digress, this is about baseball, Civil rights, and America.
I'm not the first to say this an editor in Baseball Magazine wrote in 1921:
"Thomas Jefferson, when he wrote the Declaration, made proper provision for baseball when he declared that 'all men are, and of right out to be, free and equal.' That's why they are at the ball game, banker and bricklayer, lawyer and common laborer."
But for African Americans in the first half of the Twentieth Century the game was as segregated as as any town that adhered to Jim Crow in the South or the Sundown Towns in the North and West which excluded them from the political, social privileges enjoyed by Whites. In spite of their relegation to the Negro Leagues a lot of people in baseball knew their talent and ability, one of them was Branch Rickey. Rickey was the first to successfully integrate a team. Baseball Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis opposed early attempts at integration from 1920 until his death in 1944, as a result early attempts to integrate teams failed.
Charles Thomas
It was in 1903 when Rickey, then a coach for the Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team had to console his star player, Charles Thomas when a hotel in South Bend Indiana refused him a room because he was black. Rickey found Thomas sobbing rubbing his hands and repeating "Black skin. Black skin. If only I could make them white." Rickey attempted to console his friend saying "Come on, Tommy, snap out of it, buck up! We'll lick this one day, but we can't if you feel sorry for yourself."
Thomas, encouraged by Rickey was remembered by one alumnus who saw a game that Thomas played in noted that "the only unpleasant feature of the game was the coarse slurs cast at Mr. Thomas, the catcher." However, the writer noted something else about Thomas that caught his eye: "But through it all, he showed himself far more the gentleman than his insolent tormentors though their skin is white." Thomas would go on to be a dentist and remain a friend of Rickey until Rickey's death in 1965. He moved to New Mexico where he became on of the first African American dentists in that state. Mark Moore, the Executive Director of the New Mexico Dental Association noted:
"This was a time when being a professional was difficult for an African-American. As one of the first black dentists in New Mexico, Dr. Thomas helped desegregate dentistry. He had a significant impact on our national history and the dental profession."
Baseball like most of America was not a place for the Black man. Rickey, a devout Christian later remarked "I vowed that I would always do whatever I could to see that other Americans did not have to face the bitter humiliation that was heaped upon Charles Thomas."
In April 1947 Branch Rickey who was now the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers invited one African-American ballplayer to the Dodgers' Spring Training site in Daytona Beach Florida. The South was still a hotbed of racial prejudice, Jim Crow was the law of the land and Blacks had no place in White Man's baseball, but Rickey decided to challenge that rule and the player was Jackie Robinson.
The Dodgers had been coming to Florida for years. Rickey moved the Dodgers from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach in 1947 after Jacksonville had refused to alter its segregation laws to allow an exhibition game between the Dodgers International League affiliate the Montreal Royals, for whom Robinson starred.
That was the year that Rickey signed Robinson to a minor league contract with the Royals. When Rickey called up Robinson 6 days prior to the 1947 season Robinson broke the color barrier for both the Dodgers and Major League Baseball. However it would take another 12 years before all Major League teams had a black player on their roster.
It is hard to imagine now that even after Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier that other teams did not immediately sign black players. However Rickey and Robinson broke the color barrier a year before Harry Truman had integrated the Armed Forces and seven years before the Supreme Court ruled the segregation of public schools illegal. But how could that be a surprise? The country was still rampant with unbridled racism. Outside of a few Blacks in the military and baseball most African Americans had few rights. In the North racism regulated most blacks to ghettos, while in the South, Jim Crow laws and public lynchings of progressive or outspoken Blacks.
Actor, director and civil rights activist Ossie Davis wrote in the book Baseball Nineteen – Oh – Seven" that:
"Baseball should be taken seriously by the colored player — and in this effort of his great ability will open the avenue in the near future wherein he may walk hand in hand with the opposite race in the greatest of all American games — baseball."
Larry Doby (above) and Satchel Paige signed by the Indians
The Cleveland Indians under their legendary owner Bill Veeck were not far behind the Dodgers in integrating their team. Veeck claimed that his effort to purchase the Philadelphia Phillies was rejected by Kennesaw Mountain Landis when he announced that he would desegregate the team. Under Veeck's direction the Tribe signed Larry Doby on July 5th 1947. Doby would go on to the Hall of Fame and was a key player on the 1948 Indian team which won the 1948 World Series, the last that the storied franchise has won to this date.
Hank Thompson and Roy Campanella
The St. Louis Browns signed Third Baseman Hank Thompson 12 days after the Indians signed Doby. But Thompson, Robinson and Doby would be the only Blacks to play in that inaugural season of integration. They would be joined by others in 1948 including the immortal catcher Roy Campanella who signed with the Dodgers and the venerable Negro League pitcher, Satchel Paige who was signed by the Indians.
Monte Irvin (Above) and Willie Mays
It was not until 1949 when the New York Giants became the next team to integrate. They brought up Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson who they had acquired from the Browns. In 1951 they would be joined by rookie Willie Mays to become the first all African-American outfield in the Major Leagues. Both Mays and Irvin would enter the Hall of Fame and both remained key part of the Giants' story. Despite their age have continued to be active in with the Giants and Major League Baseball, Mays still is but Irvin died in 2016.
Samuel Jethroe
The Boston Braves were the next to desegregate calling up Samuel "the Jet" Jethroe to play Center Field. Jethroe was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1950.
Minnie Minoso
In 1951 the Chicago White Sox signed Cuban born Minnie Minoso who had played for Cleveland in 1949 and 1951 before signing with the White Sox. Minoso would be elected to 9 All-Star teams and win 3 Golden Gloves.
Ernie Banks (above) and Bob Trice
The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Athletics integrated at the end of the 1953 season. The Cubs signed Shortstop Ernie Banks who would go on to be a 14 time All-Star, 2 time National League MVP and be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977 on the first ballot. The Athletics called up pitcher Bob Trice from their Ottawa Farm team where he had won 21 games. Trice only pitched in 27 Major League games over the course of three seasons with the Athletics.
Curt Roberts
Four teams integrated in 1954. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Second Baseman Curt Roberts from Denver of the Western League as part of a minor league deal. He would play 171 games in the Majors. He was sent to the Columbus Jets of the International League in 1956 and though he played in both the Athletics and Yankees farm systems but never again reached the Majors.
Tom Alston
The St. Louis Cardinals, the team that had threatened to not play against the Dodgers and Jackie Robinson in 1947 traded for First Baseman Tom Alston of the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres. Alston would only play in 91 Major League games with his career hindered by bouts with depression and anxiety.
Nino Escalara (above) and Chuck Harmon
The Cincinnati Reds brought up Puerto Rican born First Baseman Nino Escalera and Third Baseman Chuck Harmon. Harmon had played in the Negro Leagues and had been a Professional Basketball player in the American Basketball League. Harmon who was almost 30 when called up played just 4 years in the Majors. Both he and Escalera would go on to be Major League scouts. Escalera is considered one of the best First Baseman from Puerto Rico and was elected to the Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Fame. Harmon's first game was recognized by the Reds in 2004 and a plaque hangs in his honor.
The Washington Senators called up Cuban born Center Fielder Carlos Paula from their Charlotte Hornets' farm team in September 1954. Paula played through the 1956 season with the Senators and his contract was sold to the Sacramento Salons of the Pacific Coast League. He hit .271 in 157 plate appearances with 9 home runs and 60 RBIs. He died at the age of 55 in Miami.
Elston Howard
In April 1955 the New York Yankees finally integrated 8 years after the Dodgers and 6 years after the Giants. They signed Catcher/Left Fielder Elston Howard from their International League affiliate where he had been the League MVP in 1954. Howard would play 13 years in the Majors with the Yankees and later the Red Sox retiring in 1968. He would be a 12-time All Star and 6-time World Series Champion as a player and later as a coach for the Yankees. He died of heart disease in 1980. His number #32 was retired by the Yankees in 1984.
The Philadelphia Phillies purchased the contract of Shortstop John Kennedy from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League at the end of the 1956 season. Kennedy played in just 5 games in April and May of 1957.
Ozzie Virgil Sr.
In 1958 the Detroit Tigers obtained Dominican born Utility Player Ozzie Virgil Sr. who had played with the Giants in 1955 and 1956. Virgil would play 9 seasons in the Majors with the Giants, Tigers, Athletics and Pirates and retire from the Giants in 1969. He later coached for 19 years in the Majors with the Giants, Expos, Padres and Mariners.
Pumpsie Green
The last team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox who signed Infielder Pumpsie Green. Green made his debut on 21 July 1959 during his three years with the Red Sox was primarily used as a pinch runner. He played his final season with the New York Mets in 1963. He was honored by the Red Sox in 2009 on the 50th anniversary of breaking the Red Sox color barrier.
It took 12 years for all the teams of the Major Leagues to integrate, part of the long struggle of African Americans to achieve equality not just in baseball but in all areas of public life. These men, few in number paved the way for African Americans in baseball and were part of the inspiration of the Civil Rights Movement itself. They should be remembered by baseball fans, and all Americans everywhere for their sacrifices and sheer determination to overcome the obstacles and hatreds that they faced. It would not be until August of 1963 that Martin Luther King Jr. would give his I Have a Dream speech and 1964 that African Americans received equal voting rights.
Robinson would become a vocal supporter of civil rights, especially after his experience at the 1964 Republican National Convention. Robinson, a Republican and friend of Nelson Rockefeller where he was threatened by a White delegate. He wrote:
"It was a terrible hour for the relatively few black delegates who were present. Distinguished in their communities, identified with the cause of Republicanism, an extremely unpopular cause among blacks, they had been served notice that the party they had fought for considered them just another bunch of "niggers". They had no real standing in the convention, no clout. They were unimportant and ignored. One bigot from one of the Deep South states actually threw acid on a black delegate's suit jacket and burned it. Another one, from the Alabama delegation where I was standing at the time of the Rockefeller speech, turned on me menacingly while I was shouting "C'mon Rocky" as the governor stood his ground. He started up in his seat as if to come after me. His wife grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Turn him loose, lady, turn him loose," I shouted.
I was ready for him. I wanted him badly, but luckily for him he obeyed his wife…" (From Jackie Robinson "I Never Had it Made" Chapter XV On Being Black Among the Republicans)
Spring training for the 2018 season begins tomorrow in Florida and Arizona, in what are called the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. It is hard to believe that only 70 years ago that there was only one team and one owner dared to break the color barrier that was and still is so much a part of American life.
However despite opposition and lingering prejudice African Americans in baseball led the way in the Civil Rights Movement and are in large part responsible for many of the breakthroughs in race relations and the advancement of not only African Americans, but so many others. We can thank men like Charles Thomas, Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey for this and pray that we who remain, Black and White, Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern; Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu; Gay and Straight, as well as all others who make up our great nation will never relinquish the gains that have been won at such a great cost.
In an age were racism has crawled out from under the rock of social distain and has risen to such political prominence that civil rights and voting rights, as well as education, and employment, and healthcare for Blacks, other minorities, and the poor of all races are under attack it is important to remember the words of Branch Rickey to Charles Thomas in 1903: "We'll lick this one day…" It will certainly be a hard fight, but we have to fight
Filed under Baseball, civil rights, History, News and current events, Political Commentary, sports and life
Tagged as bob trice, boston braves, boston red sox, branch rickey, brooklyn dodgers, carlos paula, charles thomas, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, chuck harmon, cincinnati reds, cleveland indians, curt roberts, elston howard, equal rights, ernie banks, hank thompson, harry truman, i have a dream speech, integration of baseball, jackie robinson, jim crow laws, john kennedy baseball player, kennesaw mountain landis, larry doby, martin luther king jr, minnie minoso, monte irvin, new york giants, new york yankees, nino escalera, ossie davis, ozzie virgil sr, pee wee reese, philadelphia athletics, pittsburgh pirates, pumpsie green, roy campanela, samuel jethroe, satchel paige, spring training, st louis cardinals, st. Louis browns, sundown towns, tom alston, voting rights act of 1964, washington senators, willie mays
"We'll Lick this One Day…" Branch Rickey, Charles Thomas, Jackie Robinson and the Desegregation of Baseball
Tomorrow Spring Training begins. It is also Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day. For the Baseball purist, the Priest and the inept romantic the combination is quite juxtaposing. For the fact of the matter I don't do either Lent which Ash Wednesday begins or Valentine's Day very well. I routinely screw both of the up and as hard as I try I struggle to reach the Mendoza Line in either one. Of course that leaves baseball which for me is a religion, as well as a social commentary on America, our values, and virtues.
Filed under Baseball, civil rights, History, Loose thoughts and musings
Tagged as Baseball, bob trice, boston braves, boston red sox, branch rickey, brooklyn dodgers, carlos paula, charles thomas, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, chuck harmon, cincinnati reds, cleveland indians, curt roberts, elston howard, equal rights, ernie banks, hank thompson, harry truman, i have a dream speech, integration of baseball, jackie robinson, jim crow laws, john kennedy baseball player, kennesaw mountain landis, larry doby, martin luther king jr, minnie minoso, monte irvin, new york giants, new york yankees, nino escalera, ossie davis, ozzie virgil sr, pee wee reese, philadelphia athletics, pittsburgh pirates, pumpsie green, roy campanela, samuel jethroe, satchel paige, spring training, st louis cardinals, st. Louis browns, sundown towns, tom alston, voting rights act of 1964, washington senators, willie mays
The Desegregation of Baseball and Its Importance Today
"Jackie, we've got no army. There's virtually nobody on our side. No owners, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I'm afraid that many fans will be hostile. We'll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I'm doing this because you're a great ballplayer, a fine gentleman." Branch Rickey to Jackie Robinson
My friends, in just a few days pitchers and catchers report for the 2015 Baseball Spring Training and it is time to reflect again on how Branch Rickey's signing of Jackie Robinson helped advance the Civil Rights of Blacks in the United States. What Rickey did was a watershed, and though it took time for every team in the Major Leagues to integrate, the last being the Boston Red Sox in 1959, a dozen years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.
Branch Rickey shook the foundations of America when he signed Jackie Robinson to a Major League deal in 1947, a year before President Truman desegregated the military and years before Jim Crow laws were overturned in many states.
Robinson and the early pioneers of the game did a service to the nation. They helped many white Americans see that Blacks were not only their equals as human beings, and as it was note about Ernie Banks and others that soon "little white boys wanted to grow up and be Ernie Banks."
But for Rickey the crusade to integrate baseball began long before 1947. In 1903, Rickey, then a coach for the Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team had to console his star player, Charles Thomas when a hotel in South Bend Indiana refused him a room because he was black. Rickey found Thomas sobbing rubbing his hands and repeating "Black skin. Black skin. If only I could make them white." Rickey attempted to console his friend saying "Come on, Tommy, snap out of it, buck up! We'll lick this one day, but we can't if you feel sorry for yourself."
The Young Branch Rickey
Thomas, encouraged by Rickey was remembered by one alumnus who saw a game that Thomas played in noted that "the only unpleasant feature of the game was the coarse slurs cast at Mr. Thomas, the catcher." However, the writer noted something else about Thomas that caught his eye: "But through it all, he showed himself far more the gentleman than his insolent tormentors though their skin is white."
In April 1947 Rickey, now the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers had one African-American ballplayer at the Dodgers' Spring Training site in Daytona Beach Florida. The South was still a hotbed of racial prejudice, Jim Crow was the law of the land and Blacks had no place in White Man's baseball. That player was Jackie Robinson.
Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey
That was the year that Rickey signed Robinson to a minor league contract with the Royals. When Rickey called up Robinson 6 days prior to the 1947 season, it was Robinson broke the color barrier for the Dodgers and Major League Baseball. However it would take another 12 years before all Major League teams had a black player on their roster.
But Jackie Robison and Branch Rickey helped bring about change, and soon other teams were following suit.
The Cleveland Indians under their legendary owner Bill Veeck were not far behind the Dodgers in integrating their team. They signed Larry Doby on July 5th 1947. Doby would go on to the Hall of Fame and was a key player on the 1948 Indian team which won the 1948 World Series, the last that the storied franchise has won to this date.
It was not until 1949 when the New York Giants became the next team to integrate. They brought up Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson who they had acquired from the Browns. In 1951 these men would be joined by a young, rookie Willie Mays to become the first all African-American outfield in the Major Leagues. Both Mays and Irvin would enter the Hall of Fame and both are still a key part of the Giants' story. Despite their age have continued to be active in with the Giants and Major League Baseball.
Samuel "the Jet" Jethroe
Spring training for the 2015 season is about to begin in Florida and Arizona, in what are called the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. It is hard to believe that only 68 years ago that only one team and one owner dared to break the color barrier that was, then, and often today is still a part of American life.
However in those 68 years despite opposition and lingering prejudice African Americans in baseball led the way in the Civil Rights Movement and are in large part responsible for many of the breakthroughs in race relations and the advancement of not only African Americans, but so many others.
We can thank men like Charles Thomas, Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey for this and pray that we who remain, Black and White, Asian, and Latin American, as well as all others who make up our great nation will never relinquish the gains that have been won at such a great cost.
President Obama throwing out the First Pitch for the Washington Nationals
Today we have a Black President who has the same kind of racial epitaphs thrown at him every day by whites who as they did to Charles Thomas, Jackie Robinson and so many other pioneers, Frankly such behavior can only be called what is it, unrepentant, unabashed, and evil racism. The fact is that such people don't think that any Black man should hold such high an office, just as they did not think that Blacks should be allowed to play integrated baseball. It is anathema to them, and that is why their unabashed hatred for Obama runs so deep. They may disagree with his policies, but I guarantee if Obama was white, their opposition to him would be far more civil and respectful. But because he is half-black, and has a funny name they hate him with a passion, a passion that scares me, because words and hateful beliefs can easily become actions.
Racism still exists, but one day thanks to the efforts of the early ball-players as well as pioneers like President Obama, and the undying commitment of decent Americans to accept people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or even sexual orientation, we will see a new birth of freedom.
Filed under Baseball, civil rights, History, political commentary
Tagged as 1964 civil rights act, Baseball, bob trice, boston braves, boston red sox, branch rickey, brooklyn dodgers, carlos paula, charles thomas, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, chuck harmon, cincinnati reds, civil rights, cleveland indians, curt roberts, elston howard, equal rights, ernie banks, hank thompson, harry truman, i have a dream speech, integration of baseball, jackie robinson, jim crow laws, john kennedy baseball player, larry doby, martin luther king jr, minnie minoso, monte irvin, new york giants, new york yankees, nino escalera, ossie davis, ozzie virgil sr, pee wee reese, philadelphia athletics, pittsburgh pirates, president barak obama, pumpsie green, racism, roy campanela, samuel jethroe, satchel paige, spring training, st louis cardinals, st. Louis browns, tom alston, voting rights act of 1964, washington senators, willie mays
February 2, 2014 · 23:54
A Groundhog Day Moment for the Denver Broncos as Seahawks, Commercials and Entertainment Dominate Super Bowl XLVIII
Super Bowl XLVIII is now history, and thankfully we can get can get on to better things like baseball.
Unfortunately after several years of very competitive championship games we have a throwback edition. The Seattle Seahawks, who I don't give a whit for absolutely demolished the hapless Denver Broncos who didn't look like they deserved to be on the field. It was bad, really bad. The Seahawks won 43-8.
When the Broncos scored their one and only touchdown and made a two point conversion I tweeted: "Broncos get 2 pt conversion but it's like Bill Murray in Meatballs "it just doesn't matter" because I knew that they were toast. I will leave the game commentary to others because since it was so bad, it just doesn't matter.
Unfortunately this is not the first Super Bowl humiliation for the Broncos. Despite winning the 1998 and 1999 Super Bowls, the franchise has been the victim of some the the biggest blowouts, and this was not the biggest.
The worst was Super Bowl XXIV in 1990 when the San Francisco 49ers led by the legendary Joe Montana destroyed the Broncos in the biggest rout in Super Bowl history, a score of 55-10. That was also the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history. Two years earlier in 1988 the Washington Redskins dispatched the Broncos 42-10 and in 1987 the New York Giants did the deed 39-20. Back in 1978 the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Broncos in Super Bowl XII by a score of 27-10.
Tonight's game joins the panoply of Super Bowl blowouts and makes me glad that baseball season is almost here.
On the bright side the pre-game show was really good as was the halftime show performed by Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLXLu-03W48 . I had never seen Mars perform before and compared to many current acts he is great, not only that his show was a throwback to some great Super Bowl halftime shows of the past. Kudos to him and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The National anthem, sung by Grammy winning soprano Renee Fleming was awesome http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/02/02/renee-fleming-national-anthem-super-bowl-2014/ as was America the Beautiful sung by Queen Latifah and a choir from New Jersey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-rdWA1TB2Q . As a veteran and currently serving Navy officer I also appreciated the tributes to veterans embedded throughout the show and the commercials.
Speaking of commercials they were pretty good this year. All the nationally run ads can be seen here:
My favorites were the Seinfeld Reunion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmg9v8U8rfw the heartwarming Budweiser Puppy Love http://screen.yahoo.com/big-game-ads/puppy-love-budweiser-223606921.html , the Chobani Yogurt Bear http://screen.yahoo.com/big-game-ads/bear-chobani-001017545.html Bud Light's Epic Night with Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Llama http://screen.yahoo.com/big-game-ads/epic-night-part-2-bud-010053472.html , the Big Game ad featuring Terry Crews and the Muppets, specifically one of my favorite's Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N5A3R4XqhOA the very inclusive Coke commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8uSVUiniWQ which apparently has triggered a boycott by some very bigoted people who hate the fact that the United States is so diverse, and finally Ellen Degeneres' ad for Beats Music http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zP4ZJkGv89g.
I understand that there some others that were really good, but unfortunately things like bathroom breaks and interactions with actual human beings kept me from seeing all of them. I guess there is nothing wrong with that. Thankfully many of these will continue to air and I can always find the ones I missed on You Tube.
Of course everyone has there preferences. I was looking at some professional media pundit's comments and found that I liked some that they thought stunk, so screw them. I have my own opinion just like my own asshole, and sometimes they both stink, just like the pundits who generally won't admit to theirs stinking.
I give credit to the people at Fox Sports for putting on a good show despite the horrible one sided game, which the Seahawks deserved to win. They were the better team, in fact I think had the 49ers won the NFC that they too would have destroyed the Broncos. The NFC West is the best division in football and it showed tonight.
So anyway, on that odiferous note I wish you a good night.
Filed under football, News and current events
Tagged as Arnold Schwarzenegger, bruno mars, budweiser super bowl commercial, coca-cola, dallas cowboys, denver broncos, dr teeth and the electric mayhem, ellen degeneres, groundhog day, muppets, national anthem, new york giants, queen latifah, red hot chili peppers, renee fleming, san fransisco 49ers, seattle seahawks, super bowl blowouts, super bowl halftime show, super bowl xlviii, super bowl xxiv, terry crews, tim tebow, washington redskins
The Long and Slow Integration of the Major Leagues: A Reflection on Desegregation and Spring Training
"Thomas Jefferson, when he wrote the Declaration, made proper provision for baseball when he declared that 'all men are, and of right out to be, free and equal.' That's why they are at the ball game, banker and bricklayer, lawyer and common laborer." – Baseball magazine (1921)
"Baseball should be taken seriously by the colored player — and in this effort of his great ability will open the avenue in the near future wherein he may walk hand in hand with the opposite race in the greatest of all American games — baseball." Ossie Davis
It was in 1903 when Branch Rickey, then a coach for the Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team had to console his star player, Charles Thomas when a hotel in South Bend Indiana refused him a room because he was black. Rickey found Thomas sobbing rubbing his hands and repeating "Black skin. Black skin. If only I could make them white." Rickey attempted to console his friend saying "Come on, Tommy, snap out of it, buck up! We'll lick this one day, but we can't if you feel sorry for yourself."
In April 1947 Branch Rickey, now the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers had one African-American ballplayer at the Dodgers' Spring Training site in Daytona Beach Florida. The South was still a hotbed of racial prejudice, Jim Crow was the law of the land and Blacks had no place in White Man's baseball. That player was Jackie Robinson.
It was not until 1949 when the New York Giants became the next team to integrate. They brought up Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson who they had acquired from the Browns. In 1951 they would be joined by rookie Willie Mays to become the first all African-American outfield in the Major Leagues. Both Mays and Irvin would enter the Hall of Fame and both are still a key part of the Giants' story. Despite their age have continued to be active in with the Giants and Major League Baseball.
Spring training for the 2013 season has begun in Florida and Arizona, in what are called the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. It is hard to believe that only 66 years ago that only one team and one owner dared to break the color barrier that was, and often still is a part of American life. However in those 66 years despite opposition and lingering prejudice African Americans in baseball led the way in the Civil Rights Movement and are in large part responsible for many of the breakthroughs in race relations and the advancement of not only African Americans, but so many others. We can thank men like Charles Thomas, Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey for this and pray that we who remain, Black and White, Asian, and Latin American, as well as all others who make up our great nation will never relinquish the gains that have been won at such a great cost.
Filed under Baseball, History, laws and legislation, Political Commentary
Tagged as Baseball, bob trice, boston braves, boston red sox, branch rickey, brooklyn dodgers, carlos paula, charles thomas, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, chuck harmon, cincinnati reds, cleveland indians, curt roberts, elston howard, equal rights, ernie banks, hank thompson, harry truman, i have a dream speech, integration of baseball, jackie robinson, jim crow laws, john kennedy baseball player, larry doby, martin luther king jr, minnie minoso, monte irvin, new york giants, new york yankees, nino escalera, ossie davis, ozzie virgil sr, pee wee reese, philadelphia athletics, pittsburgh pirates, pumpsie green, roy campanela, samuel jethroe, satchel paige, spring training, st louis cardinals, st. Louis browns, tom alston, voting rights act of 1964, washington senators, willie mays
September 5, 2012 · 22:25
Un-American Activities and Such…
Note: I always recommend that anyone who writes anything look at it before they go final. I took Molly for a walk after I wrote and i realized that this post is pretty much a throw away that decided to keep. I meant to write something serious tonight but got sidetracked on the way to doing it. This is the result.
I am engaged in un-American subversive behavior tonight. That's right, I am not being a patriotic American. I am neither watching the NFL opener between the New York Non-Baseball Giants and the Dallas Cowboys nor the Democratic National Convention. No I was watching South Park. I won't be watching most of the DNC for the same reasons that I didn't watch the RNC last week, unless I decide to tune in to watch former President Bill Clinton. However, even in non-election years I have a hard time watching football, while I observe the high holy days of the MLB pennant race. If that makes me un-American I will wear the label with pride but this does not make me a Commie.
Now I didn't plan this, I simply forgot to switch the channel from John Stewart to the MLB channel and got sucked into a really funny South Park episode. It is the one where the South Park boys meet Jared Fogel of Subway Sandwich fame and that Stan makes the astute observation that "Yeah, it's only in America that somebody can become famous just because they go from being a big fatass to not being a big fatass."
Now as soon as the episode was over I switched to watch baseball on the MLB channel. Maybe later I will turn the channel to watch Bill Clinton speak at the DNC. People love my Clinton impersonation, and some find it scary. During the 2000 election fiasco I tormented my battalion's intelligence officer by doing my Clinton impersonation while we were deployed in Okinawa. Besides I could use some new Clinton material.
While I was stuck in traffic leaving work today I was doing my own Clinton DNC speech writing, except it was in my head because I had nothing to write with. I realized then that I need to become more sophisticated and learn to do You Tube comedy videos. However if I do the video thing I will have to get a Clinton wig since my bald scalp won't do the trick.
That being said what Stan of South Park said is dead on right. Whether it is someone becoming famous because they were once a fatass and now are not a fatass, or because they are some other kind of uncouth reality TV slob with no redeeming qualities whatsoever there is no place like the good old USA. The South Park kids may be among the most foul on television but their satire of American culture is often more spot on than the perfidious political pundits, politicians and preachers that prostitute themselves for the big bucks by pontificating on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and countless "news" organizations. But I digress…
Back to the baseball games and my other un-American activities. But before I go I have to say that I am not a Commie and if your mommy is a Commie you've got a Commie mommy and you better turn your Commie mommy in.
That my friends is how one can take a throw away post and turn it into patriotic jibber-jabber. Don't forget it. God bless America.
Filed under Baseball, football, Just for fun, Political Commentary
Tagged as baseball pennant race, clinton impersonation, commies, dallas cowboys, democratic national convention, if your mommy is a commie, jared fogel, jibber-jabber, john stewart, mlb channel, mommies, new york giants, nfl, patriotism, politicians, preachers, president bill clinton, pundits, reality tv, republican national convention, south park, subway, un-american activities
The Padre Steve's Super Bowl Predictions
"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra
Yes we are inexorably approaching another Super Bowl Sunday and it will be a a back to the future day with the New England Patriots playing the New York Football Giants. This year it is Super Bowl XLVI and it is a rematch of Super Bowl of Super Bowl XLII and a rematch of Eli Manning and Tom Brady. The last time that the teams met the Patriots were undefeated and lost to the underdog Giants. I like the use of the Roman numerals in the Super Bowl. It is manly, just like the movie Gladiator. There is something about the use of the Roman numerals that just make the game seem so much more important.
George Santayana said "those that do not read about the past are doomed to repeat it" and likewise based on my knowledge of the past I can pretty accurately predict three things.
I am going to go on the line here and boldly predict that the halftime show headlined by Madonna will suck. Most halftime are forgettable unless someone shows a bodily part that they are not supposed to and Madonna has said that her clothes will stay on so it will just be us watching another aging star lip sync her music while a hoard of excruciatingly skinny gyrating dancers in weird clothes mimic sex with her.
I also predict that the commercials will be cool and even if the game is bad, which it shouldn't be the commercials will be a major highlight. I like to wait to the day of the Super Bowl to actually watch the commercials being that Super Bowl Sunday is almost a religious holiday. However like a kid finding his Christmas presents before Christmas I happened to watch Matthew Broderick do his updated Ferris Buehler for the Honda CR-V on the internet. Even though I have seen it I am still excited about seeing it on the big screen.
As far as the game I can accurately predict that one of the two teams will win and to me it doesn't really matter because it isn't baseball. I don't have a dog in the fight even though I am sure that if she had the chance that my little Papillon-Dachshund mix Molly would get in a fight if she could but I won't let her.
Speaking of Molly she stole what was left of a bag of tortilla chips that I had left over from my take out order from El Zarape last night. Molly has nervier done this before but tonight she got bold and right in front of me sticker her head in the bag and dragged it off. I laughed so hard that I didn't take it from her until I took pictures with my I-Phone.
Anyway with all that said, have a nice night, day or whatever it is when you read this and may your team win because my team isn't playing. Like I said, it isn't baseball but I will watch it.
Filed under football, Just for fun
Tagged as eli manning, ferris buehler's day off, gladiator, honda cr-v, madonna, matthew broderick, new england patriots, new york giants, roman numerals, super bowl, super bowl commercials, super bowl xlii, super bowl xlvi, tom brady