The Los Angeles Dodgers are celebrating Black History Month by highlighting some of the most impactful Black players in franchise history.
The Dodgers have a long history of great African-American players, starting with Jackie Robinson in 1947 to Mookie Betts today, with many other star players in between, such as Don Newcombe, Roy Campanella, Maury Wills, Willie Davis, Jim Gilliam and Matt Kemp.
The first post from the Dodgers highlights the impact Robinson, Newcombe and Campanella made on the Civil Rights Movement that was going on around the same time that baseball first started to be integrated.
The video starts out with Bob Costas asking Newcombe about a time when Martin Luther King Jr. told the Dodgers icon that he, along with Robinson, Campanella and Cleveland Indians star Lary Doby, were all incredibly important to the civil rights movement.
“He said to me, ‘Don, I want you to know something, I want you to believe me. Will you believe me, son?’ I said, ‘Yes I will, sir,'” Newcombe recalled. “‘I want you to know that between you, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson and Lary Doby, you men have made it easier for me to do my job than all the things I’ve done in the field for civil rights.'”
Throughout Black History Month, we'll be highlighting some of the Dodgers' most impactful African American players. Today, we start with Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella. pic.twitter.com/qulx0ZUGdA
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 1, 2022
The video continues on pointing out Newcombe’s achievements on the field as a 149-game winner with four All-Star Game appearances, then the right-hander talks about how proud he is to be a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement.
“I’m so happy that my mom and my dad gave me the insides, the guts, to be able to withstand that which we had to endure because we had the audacity to want to play Major League Baseball in these United States, the home of the free, and the home of the brave,” Newcombe said. “Well, we were brave, but we weren’t free, believe me. We had to work to make it free and had we failed, I believe the advent of Black men in Major League Baseball would be set back another 20 to 25 years.”
The video then begins to highlight the accomplishments of Campanella, who was an All-Star 11 times, including for eight straight seasons, won three MVPs and hit 40 home runs in a season as a catcher, which was a record that lasted 43 years.
It ends with a quote from Robinson in 1972 during his last public appearance shortly before he died when he was accepting a plaque honoring the 25th anniversary of his debut.
“I’m going to be tremendously more pleased and more proud when I look at that third base coaching line one day and see a Black face managing in baseball,” Robinson said.
Three years later, the Cleveland Indians hired Frank Robinson and became the first team with a Black manager. In 2015, the Dodgers hired Dave Roberts as their first Black manager in franchise history.
Five years after that, Roberts became the second Black manager to lead his club to a World Series title, joining former Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, who won back-to-back championships in 1992-1993.
Roberts, David Robinson relayed Jackie Robinson memories
Roberts and the Dodgers welcomed 60 softball and baseball players from John Muir High School to Dodger Stadium on Monday for a celebration of Jackie Robinson on what was his 103rd birthday.
Roberts served as host of the event, and he was joined via video conference by David Robinson, one of Jackie and Rachel’s three children. Roberts and the youngest of the three Robinson children shared their perspective of the famed Dodgers icon.
“I think part of my job and the thing that gives me some of the most joy with my job is being a storyteller,” Roberts said. “I think you guys know the name Jackie Robinson and his impact, but to hear it from me and his son David, it’s going to be really rewarding, exciting and it’s also going to equip you guys to tell the story yourself.
“That’s what creates a legacy and ultimately is history. For me to be the first man of color to manage the Dodgers, and also be bi-racial and have Asian descent, I hold very dear to my heart.”
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