The 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking professional sports’ color barrier happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium’s opening, and while Robinson never played a professional game at Chavez Ravine, Dodgers roots run deep at his high school alma mater, 10 miles to the northeast.
In honor of Jackie Robinson Day across the major leagues on Sunday, two current Dodgers joined an accomplished collection of prominent World Series-winning African-American ballplayers that represented the Dodgers' speaking bureau on a panel in front of John Muir High School students. The group imparted Jackie Robinson's lessons and their applications outside of sports to the students assembled in the library on a rainy Friday morning in Pasadena.
Dee Gordon and Tony Gwynn Jr. joined moderator Derrel Thomas and Ken Landreaux, Tommy Davis and “Sweet” Lou Johnson in a discussion that focused heavily on perseverance and persistence — two traits that helped define Robinson’s transcendence in the face of what often appeared to be an entire nation of resistance.
“I just wanted to know where he got that second gear to continue, to go on when he went through so much,” Johnson said. “You’re looking at men here and now, but we’ve cried many a day. And we’re not crying because we didn’t make it, we cry because we are happy that we had a leader that did a lot for us to give us opportunities to be successful in what we choose to do.”
Both Gordon and Gwynn grew up in baseball families in which particular credence was given to Robinson’s achievements, and for Gwynn, that knowledge was imparted at an early age.
“For me, my dad was a stickler for knowing your history, whether it be in a particular sport or just history in general,” he said. “So I had to be on my p’s and q’s when it came to knowing certain facts about Jackie.”
“You’ve got to know your history on him, and you’ve got to appreciate,” Gordon added before expressing an admiration for how Robinson so gracefully resisted any retaliation toward those whose on-field acts of aggression failed to intimidate the Dodger infielder.
“Honestly, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to accept it or deal with it. I would’ve gotten mad.”
The steadfast perseverance in the face of opposition — including managers who instructed their pitchers to purposely bean Robinson should he draw a 3-0 count — was part of a selfless devotion that Davis, the 1962 and 1963 NL batting champion, recalled reverently.
“I’m from Brooklyn, and when Jackie first came over, he was like 27 years old, and his hair was dark,” Davis said. “He came to my junior high school in 1953 to talk to us, and only six years later, his hair was totally white. That’s how much tension that squeezed the hat on him all those years. He went through heck. He died early, also. He died at 54…He sacrificed his life for us, right here. That’s something you have to know about. Just remember that, because it wasn’t that easy. It just wasn’t that easy.”
“Martin Luther King used to come to Jackie Robinson for advice…because Jackie went through it all. So he wanted to know what he had to look forward to. That’s how strong Jackie was.”
It was all soaked in by sophomore Devonte Cravin, a leftfielder on the Muir baseball team who was recognized for his schoolwork and posed for photos alongside the current and former Dodgers. When he learned he would be enrolling at Muir two years ago, his initial thoughts immediately shifted to baseball and the pride and acknowledgement of being a Mustang.
“When I first heard that I was coming to John Muir high school, I was happy, because I wanted to follow in Jackie Robinson’s footsteps,” Cravin said. “I was happy he’s a ‘Stang, I’m happy I’m a ‘Stang and wore the same colors as him.”
He also received some outfield advice on maintaining composure from Gwynn, who will be equally as excited to wear the commemorative No. 42 jersey on Jackie Robinson Day on Sunday at Dodger Stadium (1 p.m. / Prime Ticket).
“It’s one of my favorite days during the season,” Gwynn said. “Getting to put that 42 on your back — from a personal standpoint, I try to do everything, try to wear my uniform like he wore his at that point.”
“I think it’s one of the coolest things that Major League Baseball does.”
Quotes from Jackie Robinson Day at Muir High School
TOMMY DAVIS
When I was in high school, because I had signed out of high school, I was approached by five major league organizations. But the most interesting thing was the Yankees — in those days, they didn’t give you a lot of money, like the guys are getting now. I won’t even tell you what they gave us. But anyway, the Yankees gave me more attention, because they allowed me to come to Yankee Stadium and work out with them when they were home. So I could go work out with the likes of Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford and Elston Howard, and Yogi Berra… I worked out for or five times, but Al Campanis, who was the general manager of the Dodgers at the time, was the head scout. He would come over to the house to show that the Dodgers were still interested in me, even though I didn’t work out with them. But it got to a point where I was going to sign with the Yankees on a Tuesday night. What Al Campanis did, it was terrible what he did to me. He had Jackie Robinson call me that Sunday before that Tuesday. I signed Tuesday afternoon with the Dodgers.
KEN LANDREAUX
I can say that No. 42 for me will always be a defined moment in history that allowed me to get a chance to play baseball in high school, go to college, and then make it to the professional ranks. So that’s why I would always say you guys follow your history. Know your history, because if you see it done, it can be done.
LOU JOHNSON
Where the [Watts] riots were, I had to go through that to get home. So I wore my uniform. I wore my uniform two nights in a row to let ‘em know I played baseball with the Dodgers. And I said that it might seem funny, but otherwise I might have been just another person. And I might not have survived that. So it’s in many ways that we can be thankful for Jackie. Personally, for me, just to see young guys with a lot of question marks, look at us. This is the answer here. This is where you can sit one day.
DERREL THOMAS
We overcome adversity because we are determined to succeed. That’s what athletics are all about for me.
