For a man who built so much, it\u2019s ironic that Jackie Robinson is known best for what he broke. But when Brooklyn Dodger #42 took the field on April 15, 1947, breaking Major League Baseball\u2019s color barrier in the process, he not only introduced a new era in American history but began building an enduring legacy as a courageous leader and champion of equality.<\/p>\n
Seventy years after he became a pioneer as one of the first African American baseball players to stand up to racism and start in the Major Leagues. Robinson\u2019s legacy as a baseball icon and civil rights leader continues to inspire and create change far beyond the world of sports. We\u2019re proud to celebrate that legacy with the limited-edition Jackie Robinson timepiece, the fifth installment in our Great Americans Series.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobinson is in what I call the \u2018circle of immortals,\u2019\u201d says Gary Gillette, baseball historian, co-editor of The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia, and chair of the Detroit chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)<\/a>*.<\/p>\n \u201cMickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Jackie Robinson \u2014 everyone recognizes these names. Everyone understands what great players they were. Even non-baseball fans realize the significance of their lives and careers.\u201d<\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”3459″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/p>\n Throughout Robinson\u2019s historic career, the future Hall of Famer faced tremendous adversity from teammates, opponents, and fans who refused to accept the integration of black players in professional baseball.<\/p>\n In the face of racial epithets, threats, and forms of discrimination both on and off the field, Robinson consistently combatted injustice with dignity, honor, and, like the civil rights activists he inspired, a philosophy of nonviolence.<\/p>\n \u201cRobinson had an iron will,\u201d Gary says. \u201cHe was incredibly proud, and I think it\u2019s his pride that allowed him to resist the temptation to strike back and to say \u2018I\u2019m better than this. I can endure this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”3460″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/p>\n Time and time again, Robinson proved to be a strong, courageous leader of the budding Civil Rights Movement. Prior to his professional baseball career, as a member of the military, Robinson once refused to sit in the back of a bus. The event would lead to a court martial and, eventually, an honorable discharge. Demonstrations like these compelled Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to later label Robinson a \u201csit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe integration of baseball, in some ways, paved the way for the work that African-American civil rights leaders were doing,\u201d Gary says. \u201cIt didn\u2019t mean their work didn\u2019t have to be done and that Martin Luther King and John Lewis and Rosa Parks weren\u2019t heroes, but it was easier because of Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”3461″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/p>\n Having won a Rookie of the Year award, a National League MVP award, and one World Series title, Robinson retired from baseball in 1957. But for the rest of his life, Robinson continued to use his platform as a prominent black athlete to promote justice and equality for all Americans. In the process, Robinson continued to break color barriers in other cultural spheres.<\/p>\n In 1957, Robinson became the first black vice president of a major corporation with coffee brand Chock full o\u2019 Nuts. He joined ABC as the first black television analyst in 1965. And as a chair of the NAACP and a co-founder of Harlem\u2019s Freedom National Bank, Robinson helped popularize the Civil Rights Movement throughout the \u201950s and \u201960s.<\/p>\n Today, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which provides scholarships and leadership development opportunities to students of color, carries on Robinson\u2019s legacy of equality. In its work to advance the education of minority students, the foundation embodies the philosophy Robinson himself outlined in one of his best-known quotes: \u201cA life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Shinola\u2019s Great Americans Series<\/a> is a collection of limited-edition watches that honors those who\u2019ve helped shape our culture and made a lasting mark on American history. Past honorees in the collection are Henry Ford, the Wright brothers, American poet Maya Angelou, and boxing icon Muhammad Ali.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Jackie Robinson watch<\/a> features a 42mm stainless steel chronograph with midnight blue dial and a #42 inscription in honor of his league-wide retired jersey number.<\/strong><\/p>\n *SABR<\/strong> – Society for American Baseball Research. http:\/\/sabr.org\/<\/a> (Baseball fans know this acronym well. You may have heard the term \u201csabermetrics.\u201d It pertains to the statistical analysis of baseball).<\/p>\n