And now a break from our regularly scheduled bad news feed.
With baseball season back in full swing, unless you live in Denver like me, it’s a good time to reflect on a beautiful story about one of baseball’s greats.
Jackie Robinson, we all know, was the first Black man to play Major League Baseball. And play he did.
On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his historic debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first Black player in Major League Baseball. That season, he hit .297 with 175 hits, 12 home runs, 48 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases, winning the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award. And that was even when some white pitchers refused to pitch to him, and others deliberately threw at his head.
Over the next decade, Robinson established himself as one of baseball’s greatest players. He was a six-time All-Star and in 1949 won the National League batting title with a .342 average, earning the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. That same year, he led the league in stolen bases and topped the National League in on-base percentage.
Defensively, he played multiple positions — first base, second base, and third base — while consistently ranking among league leaders in fielding.
With Robinson, the Dodgers reached the World Series six times.
He retired with a career batting average of .311, 1,518 hits, 137 home runs, 734 RBIs, 197 stolen bases, and a .409 on-base percentage. Of course, his impact extended far beyond the numbers. He opened the door for countless other Black players, transforming Major League Baseball and accelerating the civil rights movement.
If you’re over 40, you probably also know about Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician Carly Simon.
She emerged in the early 1970s as one of the defining voices of American singer-songwriters. Her father was Richard Simon. The Simon in Simon & Schuster publishing.
Her self-titled debut album, Carly Simon (1971), featured the hit “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” which reached the Billboard Top 10 and earned her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1972.
Her breakthrough came in 1972 with the album No Secrets, which went platinum and included her signature song “You’re So Vain.” That track shot to №1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of the most iconic songs of that decade. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Simon released a string of successful albums and singles.
She became the first artist to win all three major American music awards: an Academy Award, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe. Her Oscar came in 1989 for Best Original Song with “Let the River Run” from the film Working Girl, making history as the first song written, performed, and recorded solely by one artist to win an Academy Award. The same song also earned her a Golden Globe and a Grammy, achieving the rare “triple crown.” Simon has released more than 20 albums and paved the way for countless female artists.
But there’s a rarely told story about the bond between Jackie Robinson and Carly Simon’s family.
After Jackie and his wife had their third child, they wanted to move into a bigger house. The problem was that everywhere they looked in New York and Connecticut, homes suddenly became “unavailable” once the Robinsons expressed interest.
Robinson’s fame was no match for racism.
It’s the same prejudice that explains why, even today, Black doctors, bankers, and lawyers are disproportionately asked to step out of their vehicles during routine traffic stops. Turns out that ol’ work hard and play by the rules mantra isn’t enough.
When a newspaper ran a story about the Robinsons’ struggles to find housing, one family took action.
Richard Simon and his wife, Andrea, a Jewish family who lived in Stamford, Connecticut, which was a 45-minute train ride from Manhattan, reached out to the Robinsons. Andrea spoke with neighbors, politicians, and homeowners’ associations, pressing them to support an integrated city.
The Simons ultimately helped the Robinsons find a plot of land in Stamford to build their home. But it would take 18 months before it was ready.
So the Simons did something extraordinary: they invited Jackie Robinson, his wife, and their three children to live with them for a year and a half.
Carly Simon was just eight years old at the time, but became a devoted fan of Jackie Robinson. She often accompanied her father to Dodgers games, where she received “mascot recognition” from the team. She got her own uniform, hung out in the dugout, and even sat in Pee Wee Reese’s lap during games.
The Robinsons and Simons remained close friends long after the Robinson family moved into their new home.
Their story is a powerful lesson for our divided society today.
It takes far less energy to love each other than to live in anger and hate.
Take a page out of the Simon and Robinson families’ book.