For one day at Alliance Bank Stadium, the number 42 was encircled in the dirt behind home plate, taking the spot where an interlocking ‘SC’ would normally be. The tradeoff, though, was well worth it.

The Syracuse Chiefs celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on Sunday before and during their game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, marking the 65th anniversary of Robinson becoming the first African-American player in Major League Baseball to break the color barrier. The Chiefs wore commemorative Negro League-themed jerseys and hats during the game, and The National Baseball Hall of Fame brought Robinson’s Hall of Fame plaque to the stadium and displayed it in the concourse for fans to view.

Bradford Horn, the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s director of communications and education, said programs are held in the museum every year on April 15, but the Hall of Fame wanted to bring the plaque to enhance fans’ ability to understand Robinson’s legacy.

‘Our presence here today is designed to give all of the Syracuse community, those who are out here today, the opportunity to see an original piece of baseball history,’ Horn said. ‘… This plaque, by bringing it to Syracuse today, we hope that it helps this community understand the importance of Jackie Robinson.’

The Chiefs’ wore light blue jersey tops with navy blue sleeves featuring two light blue stripes. A white ‘S’ and ‘C’ were on the front of the jerseys, and the Chiefs wore gray pants.

Tyler Moore, who honored the day further by drilling a pitch from Yankees starter Ramon Ortiz over the right-field wall in the second inning, said it’s a privilege to devote a day to the baseball pioneer.

‘It was great,’ Moore said. ‘Jackie, the things he did for this game was unbelievable, and it’s always good to pay him tribute.’

Robinson’s plaque on display Sunday is not the one that hangs in the Hall of Fame, as the museum chose to re-cast his plaque in 2008. Horn said the original plaque did not say Robinson was the first to break the color barrier because the humble Robinson was adamant about not calling attention to his accomplishment.

In 2008, more than 40 years after his induction in 1962, the museum hung a new plaque that listed Robinson’s achievement because the Hall of Fame felt it was important to educate future generations, Horn said.

Robinson’s No. 42 has been retired throughout baseball since 1997.Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will be the last to wear the number. He was already wearing it when MLB made the decision to honor Robinson in that regard, and the number was grandfathered in.

John Melnick, 57, of Syracuse, said he was glad to see the Chiefs recognize Robinson and that it’s important to remember the sacrifices he and the African-Americans who followed him into baseball made.

‘I think it’s great. I think it’s important,’ Melnick said. ‘I think Jackie Robinson is a legend beyond belief and anyone that has stopped to look at baseball and its history and sacrifices African-Americans have made for his country and their perseverance. I don’t know how to describe something like that.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on April 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman