The folks in New York tried to honor baseball great Jackie Robinson by naming a street after him, but they must have made a wrong turn somewhere along the way.
Jackie Robinson swinging a bat in Dodgers uniform, 1954. Photo Credit: Photo by Bob Sandberg Look photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The New York Post reported last week that the city’s Department of Transportation misspelled Jackie Robinson’s name on a road sign in Queens. It didn’t take very long for astute drivers to notice that they were traveling down “Jakie” Robinson Parkway.
Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Gastel told the Associated Press the sign has already been replaced. But not before the public had a few chuckles along the way.
Jakie Robinson Parkway via FOX 5 New York YouTube
Robinson is remembered fondly for breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. That season, he was a sensation, winning the Rookie of the Year Award.
He went on to play 10 seasons in a Hall of Fame career which included winning the National League MVP award in 1949.
Jackie Robinson as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, circa 1950. Photo Credit: United States Information Agency, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Robinson has been honored in various ways for blazing a trail for African Americans in Major League Baseball.
The legendary star has also had various awards, buildings, foundations, and – yes – even streets named after him, which is where all the Queens confusion came from.
Robinson was famously called up by Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey in 1947, not just for his athletic prowess, but for his mental fortitude as well. The venerable baseball man told the young star from UCLA that he needed a player who was patient enough not to lash out, no matter what kind of vicious vitriol he received.
Jackie Robinson agreed to those conditions and weathered a storm of fear and prejudice like no American athlete before him. Eventually, he would become a Big Apple fan favorite, due to his daring play and constant hustle. Robinson also went on to help ‘Dem Bums’ finally win a World Series championship against their crosstown rivals, the Yankees. Today, he’s not only enshrined at Cooperstown, his number 42 has been retired by every team in baseball. He’s the only player in history to receive that honor.
(From left to right) Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Jim Gilliam in Japan. taken in 1956. Photo Credit: ベースボール・マガジン社（Baseball Magazine Co. Ltd), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Forever a sporting icon, Jack Roosevelt Robinson passed away on October 24, 1972, at the age of 53. He was survived by his wife, Rachel, who carried on his legacy in the years following his death.
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