Jackie Robinson was one of my heroes growing up. No, I am not black and have never been black. Nor have I ever been a liberal, in the modern definition of that term.
I grew up a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson’s skills obviously attracted me, as it did so many of my friends. He brought an excitement to baseball that did not exist before him and opened the door for black players who quickly followed like Monte Irvin, Willie Mays, Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, etc. Robinson did not change history, but he was a leading actor in the drama.
In college, at UCLA, Robinson was a multi-sport star. He excelled in everything he did — football, track, baseball and basketball. Baseball was probably his third or fourth best sport, yet he became a dominant major-league baseball player.
Robinson and Rickey
Jackie Robinson had something else, however. He was more educated than the average ballplayer of his time. He was older and had a quiet class about him. He had been a commissioned officer in the military. He also had a fiery and competitive nature.
How hard must it have been for him to tolerate the insults, death threats and the like. This proud, skilled black man endured more than any man should have, but he honored the agreement made between him and Branch Rickey — tolerate and ignore the abuse. Robinson understood the importance of his mission and carried it out.
Robinson was the first black baseball player. He also was a great baseball player, yet he hardly was the greatest black ballplayer. Many who preceded him, Satchell Page, Josh Gibson and a host of others, were arguably better ballplayers. It is likely that few who preceded him could have done what Jackie did.
I am not familiar with the Economic Episodes in American History series but am grateful to A.H. Smith for referring me to this article. The series looks promising . I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to relive some old memories.
In our dumbed-down culture, few remember who Jackie Robinson was. That is a reflection on us and our miserable school system.
Did Adam Smith have an ‘Invisible Hand’ in the Desegregation of Major League Baseball?
Several weeks ago, I watched my son play a high school baseball game on “Jackie Robinson Field” in Cairo, Georgia (Robinson’s hometown). As I watched, I pondered a provocative question raised by Economic Episodes in American History, a fascinating new supplemental curriculum that ought to be used in every high school social studies department:
Did Adam Smith Have an “Invisible Hand” in the Desegregation of Major League Baseball?
This question is one of 32 raised in Economic Episodes in American History, which seeks to deepen students’ understanding of American life by desegregating the study of economics and history. Written by Mark Schug and William Wood, this imaginative new curriculum uses illustrations from American history to teach students basic economic principles.
In the case of major league baseball’s desegregation, Schug and Wood invite students to learn about how labor markets function – and, specifically, how the competition for top talent made it impossible, eventually, for Major League Baseball owners to sustain an agreement to deny opportunities to African-American ballplayers.
While heralding the “courage and determination” of Jackie Robinson and of Branch Rickey (the white baseball executive who signed Robinson), Schug and Wood suggest that larger economic forces were at work in baseball’s desegregation – a fact which can help deepen our understanding of this historical episode without diminishing our admiration for the central players in this grand drama.
That Schug and Wood were the central players in the writing of this new curriculum should surprise no one. Both have won a litany of awards for their skill in teaching economics – Schug in his post at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wood in his position at James Madison University in Virginia. And both have a real heart for integrating history and economics.
At a time when many are (justifiably) concerned about America’s economic future, a curriculum that enables students to learn from our economic past seems incredibly timely. That Economic Episodes has been written so skillfully is a tribute to two professors who possess Jackie Robinson-like talent in the economics education labor market.
William Mattox is a resident fellow at The James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, Florida.
