Rachel Robinson is still promoting Jackie Robinson‘s legacy well into 2024.
Rachel, the widow of Jackie, was carted around Citi Field during a New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game to celebrate the 77th anniversary of her husband breaking baseball’s color barrier.
Rachel Robinson is at CitiField to celebrate the 77th anniversary of Jackie breaking the color barrier. She is 101 and looks great! This makes us so happy. Like this if this brings a smile to your face too. #LGM pic.twitter.com/Od5nBp7Erq
— The Other Boys Of Summer (@NegroLeagueFilm) April 15, 2024
Citi Field is in Queens, New York, which is about a 35-minute drive from Ebbets Field, the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, where Robinson made history.
Rachel went into the Mets’ clubhouse and shook hands with players on the current roster. Every Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball, each player on every team wears the No. 42.
What an incredible honor to have Rachel Robinson at @CitiField tonight 🧡💙 #Jackie42 pic.twitter.com/lhNYFasPpe
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 15, 2024
One of the former Mets who spoke to Rachel on the field was Butch Huskey, the last Met to wear No. 42 before Rachel and former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and President Bill Clinton announced the number would be retired throughout the entire league in 1997.
Huskey developed a friendship with Rachel and received the OK from her to wear the number until he retired. He also told MLB.com he wore the number after writing a report about Robinson in grade school.
“It’s a tremendous honor, first of all, to have been able to wear the number in honor of Jackie,” Huskey said during a press conference. “For him to have paved the way and what he went through for players like myself and people of color have the opportunity to play this game at a high level, it’s a tremendous honor.”
"It's a tremendous honor. It's a great day."
Butch Huskey on what Jackie Robinson Day means to him: pic.twitter.com/JrbcHOjKMx
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2024
Before the game on April 15, Busro Robinson, Jackie’s grandson, threw the first pitch to Huskey.
Busro Robinson, Jackie Robinson's grandson, throws out the first pitch to Butch Huskey pic.twitter.com/Axf6VxAbNZ
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2024
