I was seven when the Blue Jays started playing. Being a voracious reader at that age, I hit the school library and read all the books on baseball I could find. There was a biography of Jackie Robinson that I read over and over, and he quickly became my "favourite player of all time" (on a side note, reading about all the Dodger WS losses was the beginning of my Yankee non-fandom).

I was very proud (rare for a Torontonian, I'm sure!) of the way Montrealers were portrayed as being accepting of the Robinsons without hesitation. The book also linked Branch Rickey's open-mindedness to a football incident in 1926 when a black player was refused accommodation in a hotel. The influence of Jesse Owens was brought up, as well as Jackie's brother Mack. It never occurred to me that, should I become a major leaguer, I would wear any number other than 42, although my organized ball playing career lasted all of one season, at age 10. He still is my favourite player to read about.

I'm in my 20's and have never watched Jackie Robinson play an inning, but from a young age Jackie and his story caught my eyes and ears, and from there I fell in love with the Dodgers from Brooklyn. In the past 5 years I've read countless books, watched the ghosts of flatbush multiple times, & even bought the 1955 WS VHS from a man that lived in Brooklyn growing up and chatted back and forth with him asking him questions about Ebbets field & the Dodgers. Oh, and I met Roger Kahn last summer at the Canadian Baseball HOF and got my copy of Boys of Summer autographed. And when I had to go to NYC (wait... got to go to...) for work this past Feb I travelled to Brooklyn and to Ebbets fields apartments. I'm a Jays fan through and through but there's just something about those Boys of Brooklyn, specifically from 47 to 57.

ps I'm in Montreal for work this summer, I'm definitely stopping by the new JR plaque, and his Montreal appt.

I am old enough that I heard about Jackie Robinson as a young boy, but he had retired before I reached the age of 8.  I have always been impressed by his story.  My late father-in-law was from Montreal and talked about seeing him play for the Montreal Royals. For those interested and who do not know, I discovered that Jackie's daughter Sharon wrote a Christmas story about her father.  It is a true story about Jackie wanting to repay some kindness to a family in Brooklyn where he had recently moved.  The family had welcomed him and helped out.  Not all of his neighbours were so happy, given that he was African American.  This family was Jewish  . . .

Anyway, it is a delightful story, beautifully illustrated.  The book is titled: "Jackie's Gift" and it is by Sharon Robinson.  You can hear her discussing the book along with Simon Satlow, the little boy from the Jewish family, who could not believe his luck in having Jackie move onto his street at the following URL:
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/04/131805990/-Jackie-s-Gift-A-Baseball-Tale-For-The-Holidays

I can't wait to read the book to my grandchildren if and when they come along.