JACKIE AND ROBERTO AND ART

I was thinking about Jackie Robinson today. 

 

The Hall of Fame introduced a new plaque that pays tribute to the cultural impact he had on the game and the country as the first black player in the major leagues. The new plaque adds "Jackie" under his full name, Jack Roosevelt Robinson, and the inscription reads: 

 

"A player of extraordinary ability renowned for his electrifying style of play. Over 10 seasons hit .311, scored more than 100 runs six times, named to six All-Star teams and led Brooklyn to six pennants and its only World Series title, in 1955. The 1947 Rookie of the Year, and the 1949 N.L. MVP when he hit a league-best .342 with 37 steals. Led second basemen in double plays four times and stole home 19 times. Displayed tremendous courage and poise in 1947 when he integrated the modern major leagues in the face of intense adversity." 

 

The old plaque read: 

 

“Jack Roosevelt Robinson

Brooklyn NL, 1947 to 1956

 

Leading N.L. batter in 1949. Holds fielding mark for second basemen playing in 150 or more games with .992. Led N.L. in stolen bases in 1947 and 1949. Most Valuable Player in 1949. Lifetime batting average .311. Joint record holder for most double plays by second baseman, 137 in 1951. Led second basemen in double plays 1949-50-51-52.” 

 

"Jackie asked the writers to base his career on performance alone," Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark said. "He told them that when considering his candidacy for the Hall of Fame, they should only consider his playing ability, what his impact was on the playing field and please not consider anything but that. When his plaque was written in 1962, it reflected his wishes. It only recounted his magnificent career. 

 

Hall President Jeff Idelson said the idea of a revised plaque came from Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, who is also the Hall's vice chairman. Morgan met with Rachel Robinson in January who agreed that the 35th anniversary of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which Rachel Robinson established in 1973 to perpetuate her husband's legacy was ideal timing for the new plaque. 

 

I was thinking about Roberto Clemente today. 

 

Clemente is a hero to the Yankees’ five-time All-Star catcher Jorge Posada. According to the New York Times, while in Pittsburgh to play the Pirates, Posada Tuesday visited a museum honoring Roberto Clemente. Posada grew up in Puerto Rico, as did Clemente, and he was a year old when Clemente died in a plane crash in 1972. Posada went with his teammate José Molina, also a catcher from Puerto Rico. 

 

While he was visiting the museum, Jorge cellphone pictures of classic Clemente photographs. One is a posed shot of a young Clemente leaping to make a catch, with clouds in the background seeming to form wings on his shoulders. Posada ordered an enlargement of the picture for his home. 

 

Posada said he knows Clemente’s widow, Vera, and he learned a lot at his tour of the museum. “Little things, not only baseball stuff,” Posada said. “They wanted him to be in ‘The Odd Couple,’ but he was going to have to hit into a triple play. He wouldn’t do it. He said, ‘I’m never going to hit into a triple play.’ ” Bill Mazeroski took Clemente’s place. 

 

Posada has a sticker in his home locker supporting the movement to retire Clemente’s No. 21 throughout the majors. On the way to the clubhouse to the dugout at PNC Park there is a Clement quote that reads: “Whenever I put on my uniform, I am the proudest man on Earth.” 

 

I was thinking about Art Pennington today. 

 

Art “Superman” Pennington (http://www.coe.ksu.edu/nlbemuseum/history/players/pennington.html) starred in the Negro Leagues and hit .359 for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues as a 20-year-old in 1945. He spent most of the 1940s in the Negro Leagues and had a lifetime batting average of .337. He homered off Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean in an off-season exhibition game. He never made it to the majors. Pennington wound up his playing days in minor-league towns like Keokuk and Cedar Rapids, where he settled after he stopped playing. 

 

He’s 85 years old now and the house he had lived in since 1960, on the 900 block of Fifth Street SE in Cedar Rapids, was wrecked by the recent flooding. In his retirement, he turned his collection of memorabilia into a home-based museum dedicated to the Negro Leagues and his career.

 "All that insurance, it didn't pay," Pennington said. "I didn't have flood insurance, so I don't get a dime." 

 

Now he’s living with a friend who set up a MySpace site hoping to get donations to help Pennington get back on his feet - http://www.myspace.com/artpenningtonnegroleagueallstar194062. 

 

I know what Jackie and Roberto would do if they were still alive. Let’s see what MLB and which major leaguers truly have learned from their legacy.

 

Bill Chuck is the creator of Billy-Ball.com and, with Jim Kaplan, is the author of the book, “Walk-Offs, Last Licks, and Final Outs – Baseball’s Grand (and not so Grand) Finales,” with a Foreword by Jon Miller, published by ACTA Sports, and available worldwide.

 

Autographed first editions are available by contacting, [e-mail] or order directly from Acta Sports, http://www.actasports.com/detail.html?&id=3427 or from your favorite bookstore.