The City of New York and the New York Mets have unveiled plans for the new stadium that will replace Shea Stadium on Opening Day in 2009. One major question is this: what should be the name of this new park? Shea Stadium was named for lawyer William Shea, whom Mayor Lindsay at the time noted was the most instrumental person in getting the place built, thus the appellation for the place that the Mets have called home for 42 years was odd but understandable; however, they will have to give the new stadium a different name, and I believe it should be Jackie Robinson Field.
The connections between the New York Mets and the Brooklyn Dodgers are quite tangible and most vivid for Mets fans, especially those persons who are 55 years old and older. Just like our Mets, the Brooklyn Dodgers were the underdog team in a city dominated by the damn Yankees across the river. They were a blue-collar team to be sure (as Newsday sportswriter Jon Heyman has noted, the Yankees are “about as blue-collar as Monte Carlo”), having a deep fan base in the poor and working classes in Brooklyn, Queens, and later Long Island. While they had some amazing players over the years (Duke Snider no doubt being their best all-around player, eventually rivaling Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle as the top centerfielder in baseball), none had such a visceral and long-lasting impact as Jackie Robinson.
Whatever the motivation was for Branch Rickey to sign Robinson (and I have heard many varying stories over the years), the fact that the first black player in the Major Leagues was on the Dodgers changed baseball and American society forever. World War Two had ended only two years before and the armed forces were still segregated during that time; when the Korean conflict started a few years later, our forces would be integrated and there would be a move across the country to do the same thing in schools, the workforce, and in communities.
Jackie Robinson opened the door and behind him hundreds of other black players were waiting. Robinson was an exemplary person, an extraordinary ballplayer, and his success and good will were felt by players of all colors. Because of Robinson, the Major Leagues slowly became diversified and play rose to an infinitely better level. My grand uncle, who played in the minor leagues in the 1920s, said, “Our white team was always beaten when we played against the black teams in pick-up games because the blacks were better players,” so this influx of talent certainly pushed all players to be better athletes out of necessity.
Article comments
1 - Gary Berman
A fitting legacy indeed!
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Victor, nice proposal. Can we name the toilets after Mo Vaughn?
3 - Victor Lana
Suss, we can name the toilets after Big Mo only if the garbage disposal system is named in Bobby Bonilla's honor. Now, if I could just think of something apropos for Richie Hebner, Stork Theodore, and Bret Saberhagen (maybe Waste Management?)
4 - J. P. Spencer
It's a lovely idea. Unfortunately, in this time of extreme commerce, naming a stadium after Jackie Robinson won't make anyone any money in the Mets front office.
Expect it to be named after some huge multinational conglomerate who's willing to shell out millions of dollars a year for the naming rights. Hanging a "42" on the outfield fence, in the mind of Major League Baseball, gets them off the hook. What a travesty!
5 - Victor Lana
Right you are, JP. You know what I find a travesty: that anyplace in baseball could have been named Enron Field. Just a disgrace.
6 - joe
no way,if u want to name the park to a great man fine,not to a baseball player who always would cry the blues and did not like white people,get real,read between the lines of his statements.I would love to see MLK who was for all people,not someone for one people.
7 - MCH
Victor;
Good idea, it'd be a great tribute to a great pioneer. The obstacles he overcame changed the face of professional sports.
8 - Victor Lana
Without specifics and actual sources, I don't know how to comment on #6 directly.
At this point in time, everything I've ever read about Jackie Robinson has been so positive and an affirmation of his conduct as a player and a human being. Ever hear his teammate Pee Wee Reese talk about him? It's worth listening.
Thanks, MCH; I hope Jackie will get the recognition he deserves.
9 - Sean
You want to name the Mets new park (in Queens) after a Brooklyn Dodger?
Did Jackie Robinson ever play for the Mets?
10 - John
Why not name the stadium after Sandy Koufax. He was a Brooklyn Dodger, the greatest jewish baseball player and a friend of the Mets owner.
No wait let's name it after Roberto Clemente. The great Pirate who fought prejudice and died helping victims in a earthquake.
No let's name it after Hank Aaron the great home run hitter for the Braves who help lead the fight against racism.
No wait this is the METS ball park, not the Pirates or the Braves or the bleeping Dodgers. For all the METS fans who were born after the Dodgers left (and the Giants, remember them); any time some old sport writer starts talking about the good ol' days of the Dodgers, we feel like buying them a one way ticket to LA.
Why don't the Dodgers change the name of Dodger Stadium to Jackie Robinson Stadium and just leave the Mets to the MET fans.
Its a given that Jackie Robinson was not just a great baseball player but, a great American. And one of the most important people in American history of the 20th Century.
But, we're just naming a ballpark and while most New Yorkers don't want to go Pepsi Park or The Home Depot Stadium, there are a lot of fans that are Met fan and want the park to embrace the history of the Mets and not the Dodgers.
11 - NR Davis
That makes a lot of sense (sez this longtime Mets fan; they're my National League team). But you know what? Given a choice between Jackie Robinson Stadium and one named after some collective of corporate robber barons, I'll take honoring a ballplayer. The same holds for a Sandy Koufax, Henry Aaron or Roberto Clemente stadium. But in the end... Fed Ex or Comcast or some other icky entity will get the honors.
Of course, in Baltimore we ignore that shit. The city's football stadium is named after a big local bank that shelled out a bundle for naming rights, but ask any real fan - they'll call it Ravens Stadium. (The baseball stadium, reasonably, is named Oriole Park at Camden Yards, "the Yards" being the historic location of the side-by-side sports facilities.)
12 - Doug DeLise
To All, Jackie Robinson, while being a history maker, did not make ANY history for the New York Mets. There are several baseball parks, stadiums, facilities named for him all across our country. The Cubs Minor League in Daytona Beach has one. When the Dodgers build a new stadium (and they will) it will be up to them to name their new stadium after Jackie Robinson, anything else would be premature. The N.Y. Mets new stadium should bear a name in Mets history, who knows maybe Payson Park?
13 - Craig B
If given a choice between a corporate name or another, business wise the corporate name will take place. So if there was that choice there is no way an owner will pass on 50 Million a year in order to name a park after a player, especially a player that never played for that team.
Naming the new stadium after Jackie Robinson will indeed be an honor to his memory. However, it would be a dishonor to all the players, coaches, and managers that have come through the Mets organization over the past 45 years. If we must go back on history then name the park after the heart and soul of the baby Mets, Ms. Joan Payson.
There are so many choices out there, Gil Hodges, Casey Stengel, Tom Seaver, etc. Geez, Don Zimmer even played for the Mets. If this is such an important deal, how come the Dodgers never named, or renamed for that matter their park at Chavez Ravine? It has always been called "DODGER STADIUM". If the organization that had Robinson, and so proudly proclaims that "they" had the first black ball player in the majors hasn't named their stadium after him why should a team that has NO connection to him do so? I love the Mets because I was brought up with them, my family were Brooklyn Dodger fans, and like millions were stabbed in the back when the O'Malleys took "Dem Bums" from us, but the Mets came in honoring the Dodgers and the Giants with the Orange and Blue - I think that is enough. We have history of our own that s hould be honored first and foremost! Changing the Interboro to Jackie Robinson stadium was okay. The city shold have just gone and renamed Ebbets Field projects after him. People may not know this but there are many things named after him in New York - next to the aforementioned projects is Jackie Robinson Elementary P.S. 375 - in Manhattan is the Jackie Robinson H.S., even a Jackie Robinson Center for Physical Culture, etc. etc. get the drift? These are proper places for his name. NOT ON THE WALLS OF A STADIUM FOR A TEAM HE NEVER PLAYED FOR!
14 - Wong
They dont need to waste money on a stadium they suck they need to waste money on players not druggy's either