Brooklyn Dodger legend Ralph Branca was in New York City this week for the Sports Angels
spring fundraiser, where he is Vice-Chairman of the organization that
serves to support local youth sports initiatives. With Thursday's event
occurring 63 years to the date of Jackie Robinson's
April 15, 1947 major league debut, Branca, who won 21
games for the Dodgers in 1947, gave his recollections of being present
for the historical breakthrough.
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Ralph Branca with Jackie Robinson (L) and Pee Wee Reese (R).
Courtesy of Walteromalley.com
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"That day, if you read the papers, basically, they didn't mention that
he was breaking the color barrier," Branca said. "The papers said, Robinson went 0-3,
walked, scored a run, and bunted successfully. It never mentioned that
it was a great event in the history of the world. I say the world
because he helped baseball number one, but also as baseball integrated,
the country took a different view of blacks. It took the government
seven years to pass a civil rights law, which was to the benefit of
everyone, lessening our countries' prejudice. That event was great."
Branca cited the uncertainty surrounding debut as a reason for the
media hesitating to label Robinson's debut as groundbreaking. The event was uncharted waters the press was still figuring out how to navigate.
"It was a
strange new territory," he said. "People didn't know how to react or behave and the
papers themselves didn't note it as a historic event, just as a write
up of the game period."
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