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Apr. 16, 2006 All of Major League Baseball's celebrations honoring Jackie Robinson yesterday focused on the beginning of his career. Rightfully so. Robinson, an African-American, broke baseball's version of apartheid when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, ending decades of segregation and leading to social change both on and off the field of play. Robinson's final act as a player was also significant. Prior to the 1957 season, Robinson decided to retire rather than follow the Dodgers to Los Angeles or accept a trade to the rival New York Giants (who relocated to San Francisco soon after). His wife Rachel, who always referred to him as "Jack," acknowledged yesterday in interviews that her husband would have likely played at least another year had the Dodgers not moved. By choosing to retire, however, Robinson effectively-although perhaps unintentionally-took a stand against baseball's abandonment of the inner city, which began with the Dodgers' move and continues today. Indeed, in the first half of the 20th century, baseball was part of the social, cultural and economic fabric of the cities in which it was played professionally, according to historian Charles C. Alexander, PhD. Stadiums (see Fenway and Wrigley) were literally woven into the neighborhoods in which they were built. Former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley decided to move the Dodgers from old, cramped Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to sunny Los Angeles because New York officials were reluctant to finance construction of a new stadium. Because of the post-World War II migration of whites from the cities to suburbia, O'Malley feared that the Dodger's Brooklyn home would no longer be appealing to middle class families. Declining attendance figures in the 1950s seemed to prove his point. The Dodgers migration westward launched a mass exodus of professional sports franchises from cities to outlying areas deemed more friendly to their suburban white fan bases. And, as a result, these franchises' fans no longer mirror the cities for which they're named. Think a lot of Detroit residents make the trek from downtown to Auburn Hills to see the Pistons? Of course, many casual observers would say this trend has largely reversed over the past 20 years or so, starting with Orioles' move to Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore in 1992. However, many of these new, urban fields of dreams were not built INTO the inner cities but OVER them-just ask the 5,000 or so residents of Brooklyn who will soon, ironically, lose their homes to make way for a new arena for the NBA's Nets. The idea, it seems, it create a sterile environment in which suburban (read: white) fans will comfortable. I wonder what Jackie Robinson would think of THAT. ------------ About the author:Brian P. Dunleavy is a New York-based freelance sportswriter. He can be reached at: bpdunleavy@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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