(This story originally appeared in the Monument Park Commemorative Edition of Yankees Magazine. To purchase your copy, visit www.yankees.com/publications or call 800-GO-YANKS.)
I’ve always been of two minds about the idea of retiring uniform numbers. On the one hand, I certainly understand the sentiment — it’s a recognized means of appreciating greatness, and I’m on board with that. The downside to me, though, is that in doing so, your taking away the opportunity for players to recognize their heroes by choosing to wear the number. When Carlos Delgado wears 21 to celebrate Roberto Clemente, that’s obviously a meaningful tribute; does it really make sense that a player for the Pittsburgh Pirates can’t make the same choice?
I’m pretty sure that I’m in the minority on this, so I don’t feel any real need to harp on it. I kind of liked it a few years back when the University of Michigan — my alma mater — began honoring greats from the team’s past by “unretiring” their numbers. Essentially, they tried to establish the idea of wearing those numbers as a privilege, rather than celebrating the university legends by keeping their numbers out of rotation. I liked seeing Michigan QB Devin Gardner wearing 98, as a tribute to “Old 98” Tom Harmon. But again, your mileage may vary.
Anyway, that’s a long lead-in to this Q&A with Sharon Robinson, daughter to the legendary American pioneer Jackie. In 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his big-league debut, Major League Baseball retired Jackie’s No. 42 throughout the league, while grandfathering in the right for players already wearing the number to keep it until they retired. Mariano Rivera eventually became the last player in the league wearing the hallowed digits, even as it already hung in Monument Park, as it did at the other 29 Major League stadiums.
When Rivera finally retired after the 2013 season, the number went with him. Now it only appears every April 15, during the league-wide celebration of Jackie Robinson Day, at which all players on all 30 teams wear Jackie’s 42.
I think Sharon is a terrific person to speak with — I’ve long admired the way she honors her parents’ legacy by her work in educating children about the era in which her father played, and the struggles that continue. I thought a lot of her answers about Jackie’s legacy — and especially about Jackie as a father — were exceptionally interesting.
https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/sharon-robinson-qa/c-263620308?tid=163658034