42

      

     I went with my best friend to see 42 The Jackie Robinson Story yesterday. This movie was well worth the $3.50 I paid for my ticket (thanks to our local second run theater that just happens to have the best popcorn in town.) It would have been worth ten times that amount. 

    

      If for some reason you've been living in a cave since 1947 here's a rundown of the story. In 1945 World War II had ended. African American war heroes came home to find that Jim Crow laws and segregation were still firmly in place. The owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers organization decided it was time for baseball to be integrated. So he chose a player named Jackie Robinson to bring into the Dodgers minor league team. Against great odds and prejudice, in and outside of his own team, Jackie Robinson proved himself to be good enough to play major league baseball. On opening day 1947 he stepped onto the field as the first African-American professional baseball player.

     This movie was amazingly well done. The only "big name" actor was Harrison Ford as the Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey. Mr. Ford embodied the character so well that I almost didn't recognize him. I personally think that this was a huge benefit to the movie as it almost made you feel like you were watching history unfold. 

     One of the themes of the movie that really stood out to me was the courage that was displayed. Not just by Jackie Robinson but by many of the characters. 

• Mr. Rickey put his entire livelihood on the line in order to integrate baseball. He could have continued to sit on his laurels and done nothing. 
• Mrs. Robinson stood beside her husband every day knowing that their futures were totally uncertain. 
• The families that Jackie Robinson stayed with when he wasn't allowed into hotels. They put themselves, their homes, and their families in jeopardy just by having them in their homes. 
• Then there were his teammates. The picture above is an iconic scene from the movie. The player wearing the #1 jersey was Pee Wee Reese. He was from Kentucky and had received a letter threatening him if he played with Jackie Robinson in Cincinnati. By putting his arm around Jackie he was making a statement to his family in the stands.
•  And of course there was Jackie Robinson. I'm not sure I am capable of putting in to words the courage it must have taken to deal with all he did on a national stage. I will let the movie speak for itself. But just try to imagine how it would feel to have hundreds of death threats against you and your family, have millions of people calling you vile names, having fastballs deliberately thrown at your head, and you can't fight back.

     I also learned things from this movie. I only knew the basics of his life. I did not know that the number 42 is the only number to be retired from all of baseball. Or that every April every major league baseball player wears the number 42 in honor of him. Jackie Robinson only wanted to play baseball and instead he changed history.