Jackie Robinson did break the color barrier 62 years ago today. Other black players at the time were more talented, had better names (Satchel Paige) and deserved the chance more than Jackie, but Branch Rickey wanted Robinson.
 
Rickey CHOSE Jackie Robinson. 

Rickey thought Jackie had the necessary talent (though not necessarily the best) and thought he would be able to handle the drama and insults better than most of the other black players available. A great exchange occurred between Rickey and Robinson during the "interview." Rickey wanted a man who could restrain himself from responding to the ugliness of the racial hatred that was certain to come. 

On August 28, 1945, Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial drama without taking the bait and reacting angrily. Robinson asked Rickey, "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?" Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with guts enough not to fight back."

Just Rickey being Rickey.

Looking back on it, Paige probably wasn't the correct choice as he oftentimes had a bad temperament and burned some bridges, and likely wouldn't have had the "guts" as Rickey suggested.

Rickey was a brilliant baseball man and was correct about Robinson in talent and demeanor. Jackie turned out to be the National League Rookie of the Year in 1947, and two seasons later won the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.

I participated in the 1985 Division 3 College World Series and the night before the series started, the opening dinner was emceed by former Brooklyn Dodger catcher and future MLB manager Bobby Bragan. He was very entertaining, with great stories and songs while he played the piano. Great stories included one of Maury Wills and Roberto Clemente and the power of Clemente's throwing arm. Bragan knew of Clemente quite well as Roberto was a Dodger farmhand (who like Jackie played first in Montreal for the Royals) who was drafted by the Pirates in 1954, an equivalent to the current Rule 5 draft.

I also knew that Bragan was a Southern Boy and was the foremost Dodgers OPPONENT of Jackie Robinson playing baseball in the major leagues, who signed the petition calling for Jackie's outright release from the Dodgers or to be traded away.

After the Division 3 World Series dinner was over and everybody moved away from Bragan, I asked him about that time with Jackie in 1947. He looked at me cautiously and said he was initially wrong in his assessment, but later told Rickey that Jackie was a fine man and player, and he "was honored to be Jackie Robinson's teammate."

We quickly changed subject and began to talk about the old Dodgers method of doing things and their vast farm system at the time. I learned quite a bit from Bragan.

Also, about 10 years later I was at a Sports Collector's Show in Virginia. At the time, I was a full time dealer in vintage baseball cards, and Johnny Sain was signing autographs. Also signing were Al Kaline**, Robin Roberts, Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Enos Slaughter and about a dozen other Hall of Famers and older players. Those shows were really fun and there were opportunities to see certain players "on the circuit."

**About six months before the Virginia show, I was helping a friend with a private autograph signing with Kaline. I helped pass the Detroit Tiger HOFer baseballs and photos to be signed, and we began to talk baseball. As a baseball fanatic, I knew quite a bit about his career and the great 1968 World Series, where Kaline had a game winning hit in Game 5. Incidentally, while facing elimination, the Detroit manager let the pitcher Mickey Lolich hit in the bottom of the 7th with one out. Do you thnk that would happen today?  By the way, Lolich singled to begin the winning three run rally.

As at dealer at the Virginia show, I was able to get a free autograph from each player, and at the time there were no autograph seekers in line.  I was going down the line when Kaline looked up at me, said hello and shook my hand. He was always friendly. Then he looked at me again, and said, "Aren't you the young man from the New York signing a few months ago?" I assured him that I was. He then yelled down, "Hey Robin (Roberts), this young guy knows more than you about baseball." To which Roberts said, "Oh, really?" and asked me to come down and chat.  

It was a really good experience. I still buy and sell older, vintage sports cards so if anybody has any for sale, please let me know.

Anyway, I was up there with Sain, famous for his great 1948 season, when "Spahn and Sain and Pray for rain"  was the mantra of the 1948 Boston Braves. Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain would literally pitch almost every game down the stretch that season.

The Braves swept a Labor Day doubleheader (why can't we have a normal doubleheader a few times a season?) with Spahn throwing a complete 14-inning win in the opener, and Sain pitching a shutout in the second game. Following two off days, it did rain. Spahn won the next day, and Sain won the day after that. Three days later, Spahn won again. Sain won the next day. After one more off day, the two pitchers were brought back and won another doubleheader.

Spahn and Sain had gone 8–0 in twelve days' time!

But Sain is famous for another moment on the field when he threw the first pitch to Jackie Robinson on April 15, 1947. During that autograph signing, Sain signed my baseball "Johnny Sain - First Pitch To Jackie Robinson 4/15/47." It still sits in a holder on my shelf.

I remember Jim Kaat always saying that Johnny Sain was the best pitching coach he ever had. Kaat said that Sain would preach the standards:

1) Work quickly
2) Throw strikes
3) Change speeds

With all the newfangled stats right now and pitching mechanisms which are available, pitching still comes down to those three caveats.

And while today is a great day - and not just because I got my taxes done on time - I wondered why Major League baseball insists of forcing each player to wear the number 42. It became confusing today for announcers and fans, not knowing who the "no-name" players were.

The number was retired by major league baseball 12 years ago on the 50th anniversary of Robinson's first major league game, and only one person, Mariano Rivera, still is grandfathered in proudly wearing the number. 

Yesterday, it appeared that Mariano was playing for every team!

First base -Bugs Bunny, second base - Bugs Bunny...etc.  It was definitely "perplexing!"

It was a nice gesture a few years ago when Ken Griffey, Jr. asked Commissioner Bud Selig to honor Jackie by asking to wear his number 42 on the 60th anniversary, but to force everybody to wear it seems like a mockery of the number and of the man.