Portrait For Change

Don Newcombe recalls, "In 1968 a famous black man sat at my table one night at a dinner. His name was Martin Luther King. He said, ‘Don, you and Jackie and Roy will never know how much easier you made it for me to do my job. On the baseball field, you opened things up where people could stay, where they could eat.’ This was 24 days before Martin died in Memphis. MLK Jr. believed that Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe, and Roy Campanella opened the door for people to accept equ...ality for all races. There is no denying the importance of MLK on our world today. Every January it is an honor to celebrate his courage. There is also no denying the impact Jackie Robinson had on Major League Baseball. He is the reason that every April 15th players take the field wearing number 42. Each of these men challenged America to look beyond their judgments and love others. Without their courage and determination, who knows where we would be today. See more