I can hear what Jackie Robinson's mother
is saying right now. "Batter up, even when
I am making biscuits so that I can be baking
them."
She is 100 today.
Well howdy doody my name is Jack
Isn't much history this old dude lacks
Even Jackie Robinson
Dad and I saw game one
First black player ever to get untracked
Number 42 Retire
Brooklyn Dodgers Number 42
Hang up your jersey, honey
No one can follow you after Jackie Robinson
Major League Baseball was uplifted into the outer sphere
When Jackie Robinson was brave enough
And brazen enough to try….
Major League Baseball had been closed to people of color
Jackie’s prowess, professionalism and success changed
The way people in the USA thought about all sports.
Thank goodness.
He paved the way for
black football players and basketball players too
I wonder if he ever knew?
The incomparable Jackie Robinson
who wore "42" rose to prominence and...
broke the Major League Baseball color barrier
In 1947, and had a 10-year All-Star career
Date written: 02/09/2021
Growing up in Montreal, there were many great stars
Loud cheers for the Royals were heard from the local bars
The greatest of them all
Jackie Robinson stood tall
Jackie's memory remains always in our hearts
This guy's been a baseball fanatic since I was ten
Jackie Robinson was my hero, first man of colour back then
History in the making
He was shaking' and baking'
Most teams weren't accepting but my Montreal Royals were... amen!
April 15th was Jackie Robinson Day
My boyhood hero who led the way
Allowing those since
To follow his prints
This spirited man, a pioneer he did play
Supposedly we are all created equal
But some are more equal than other
How can that be and my question is why
Aren't we all supposed to be brothers
It's totally baffled me all my life
Became aware of it in nineteen forty-six
All the attention was on Jackie Robinson
The baseball world was transfixed
The colour barrier was down forever
As out from the dark we emerged
I'll never forget that season of awakening
When finally discrimination was purged
My hero, the super hero of my youth
Lived and died with his success
Till my very last breath I'll remember Jackie
With this giant of a man I was obsessed
© Jack Ellison 2013
Jackie Robinson
Broke the color barrier
Number 42 first ever retired
Lead the way for so many black athletes
Honor this great man today
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