In today's article in a series of articles on the last words said by some famous people before they died, we take a look at the very last words said by the man most people know simply as Jackie Robinson. Let's get into it.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player. Jack (born January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia in the United States of America) is highly revered in the baseball world as he was the first ever African American to play baseball in the Major League Baseball (MLB) league in the modern era. Jackie was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers (now known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) in 1947 by Negro-league baseball team Kansas City Monarchs.
Overall, Jackie Robinson spent 10 seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers team winning the Rookie of the year in his debut season and also winning the World Series in 1955. Years after his retirement, the MLB teams unanimously decided to retire Jackie Robinson's jersey number (number 42).
What Were Jackie Robinson's Last Words?
Jackie Robinson died at the age of 53 in Stamford, Connecticut in the United States of America. Jackie's last public statement came just 9 days to his death in the 1972 World Series game between the Oakland Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds.
Jackie's last words were “I am extremely proud and pleased to be here this afternoon, but I must admit, I am going to be tremendously more pleased when i look at the third-base coaching team and see a black face managing in baseball”. This was Jackie's response to being asked if more Black managers should be employed in Major League baseball.
