We Honor Jackie Robinson-April 15th

Spider Jorgenson, Pee Wee Reese, Ed Stankey and Jackie Robinson

Brooklyn Dodgers

For those of you who don't know this....our family LOVES baseball. One of the main topics of conversation when Dean and I were becoming acquainted was, you guessed it, baseball. Bradley was in the Little League Organization in Washington state, and had his team advanced to the regional tournament in California, Dean and I would not have gotten married on August 16, 2003. As my luck has it, Bradley's team lost...freeing up Dean's time to come and visit me. We eloped the first weekend we met.

We got sealed in the temple on August 16, 2005 (on our 2nd anniversary). We did it up right...pics and all. This is on Bradley's Little League Field in Salt Lake City. We had a blast!

But this isn't about me...this is about Jackie Robinson.

Jackie is Bradley's hero...hands down. His dad is also one of his heroes, but Jackie is his baseball hero. One time when he was 11 or 12, he was in his room reading a biography of Jackie Robinson. I walked into his room, and he was crying. He told me parts of the story and how Jackie's brother died. Crying...I'm telling you....the kid loves Jackie Robinson.

When we re-did Bradley's room last fall, we had our neighbor paint a mural on Bradley's wall, and yep...Jackie Robinson is now permanently painted on his wall with the quote that says: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

This is a shot of Bradley's wall mural. The picture doesn't do it justice.

I'm so inspired by Mr. Robinson and what he did for this country. Through America's pastime, he helped breech the "color barrier." He suffered a lot of persecution, but his talent spoke for itself. I also love that his teammates defended him and supported him. I love that he was a humble man. I love that he is such a great role model for my son and my daughters.

Wednesday, April 15th is known as Jackie Robinson Day. April 15, 1947 was the first day that Jackie took the field as a Brooklyn Dodger. For a few years now, major league baseball players have honored Jackie by wearing his number: 42.

This movement begun in 2004 when Ken Griffey, Jr of the Cincinnati Reds asked permission from the Robinson family to don the number in Jackie's honor. The baseball commissioner approved and a tradition began.

LA Dodgers players on Jackie Robinson Day 2009

It is an emotional site to see EVERY Dodger wear the number 42. What is even more overwhelming is to see the support for Jackie Robinson Day from the entire major league. 2009 was the FIRST time that EVERY MLB player, every coach and every umpire wore the number. What a great tribute!

On Wednesday, April 15th we all happened to catch the news story on ABC World News Tonight. Trust me, it is VERY rare that we are all home at that time and it is even more rare to have us watching the nightly news. (My friend, Steve Osunsami, had a story run that night...which is why we tuned in.) All of the kids and Dean saw the story, and we were all touched.

Yesterday, Dom and Elle had to choose what number to put on the back of their new softball batting helmet. You guessed it, they chose 42. I'm proud of them! They could have put their own number on there, but one of them suggested to put 42 on their helmet!

The full effect of a pink batting helmet

I hope that if I get to Heaven some day that I can tell Mr. Jackie Robinson thank you for being a good example to my kids. I hope he's loving it there and playing pick up ball with the rest of the guys hanging out in the Field of Dreams!