Remembering Ken Griffey Jr.'s Impact on Iconic Jackie Robinson Day Tradition
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The Seattle Mariners, along with the rest of the teams around Major League Baseball, honored one of the greatest figures in the history of the game on Tuesday.
The date of April 15 was Jackie Robinson day and marked the 68th anniversary of when Robinson made his major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke down the color barrier.
All 30 major league teams have Robinson's uniform number — No. 42 — retired. That decision was made in 1997 on the 50th year of Robinson's debut.
The last player to wear that number throughout their career, Mariano Rivera. He was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019 as the only-ever unanimous selection. But once a year, players wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day to honor him. And one Seattle legend is considered responsible for one of the biggest tributes for Robinson during his day.
Ken Griffey Jr. wore the inverse of Robinson's number, No. 24, throughout his career. But on the 60th anniversary of Robinson's iconic first game in 2007, Griffey Jr. (then with the Cincinnati Reds) requested to wear it. Two years later, MLB commissioner Bud Selig said everyone in the sport would be permitted to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day. Griffey Jr. hit a home run the day No. 42 was worn by everybody in the league.
Ken Griffey Jr. came up with the idea of wearing No. 42 on April 15th.
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) August 28, 2020
On the first Jackie Robinson Day when the number was worn league-wide (2009), Junior hit his 400th homer as a Mariner. #Jackie42 pic.twitter.com/QrBeTs3YmU
In an interview with MLB.com, Griffey Jr. talked about being credited with starting the trend that has become one of the most iconic tributes to Robinson:
“The way I look at it, this is what we’re supposed to do,” Griffey told MLB.com on Saturday. “This isn't a Ken Griffey thing. This is a baseball thing. I just happened to be the guy that brought it to everybody's attention. But this is what baseball needed to do.”
Griffey Jr. was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Griffey Jr. doesn't take credit for players league-wide wearing No. 42. But whether he does or doesn't, it's one of the most iconic tributes to the legendary figure. And Griffey Jr. was the one who started it.
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