Stories and lessons come from Josh Ockimey, Oil Can Boyd, and Rich Gedman.
WORCESTER, MA — In 1997, on the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s dismantling of Major League Baseball’s color barrier, Worcester Red Sox President Dr. Charles Steinberg, then Executive Vice President of the San Diego Padres, watched as a reporter kneeled next to a little girl to ask if she knew who Jackie was.
“I’ve heard of her, but I don’t exactly know what she did,” she replied.
The admission was innocent, but Steinberg worried. The perceived threat to Robinson’s memory galvanized him into establishing a tradition in 2003 with the Boston Red Sox, which he brought to Pawtucket and now Worcester: gathering with local students annually on Robinson’s birth date, January 31—also the eve of Black History Month—to celebrate Robinson’s legacy through the telling of stories and lessons. For the 20th consecutive year, the Hall of Famer’s legacy was celebrated by New England’s premier baseball teams.
Over 1,200 students from Worcester Public Schools, their teachers, and Worcester Superintendent Maureen Binienda tuned into Monday morning’s one-hour Zoom event, “A Celebration of Jackie Robinson.” The children, from more than a dozen schools, were all 4th, 5th, or 6th graders. They listened to WooSox star first baseman Josh Ockimey, WooSox hitting coach and Red Sox Hall of Famer Rich Gedman, former pennant-winning pitcher Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, and businessman and civil rights leader Frank Jordan.
“The Red Sox have won four World Series since Jackie broke baseball’s color barrier [in 1947],” Steinberg said. “Can you imagine if the Boston Red Sox weren’t allowed to have David Ortiz on the team? No Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., or Xander Bogaerts?”
Segregation seems unimaginable today, but it was only 75 years ago that Black players couldn’t intermingle with white players on the baseball diamond. For more than a decade afterward, in many cities, Black players couldn’t stay at the same hotels or eat at the same restaurants as their white counterparts.
Ockimey—whom students gleefully and audibly welcomed—said he first comprehended the magnitude of Robinson’s influence in first grade, when his father taught him about the Negro Leagues and took him on a trip to Cooperstown. Ockimey was born in Philadelphia in 1995, long after Jim Crow laws dissipated, but he said that as a Black man in America, he often feels he must work twice as hard as everyone else.
Boyd, a fifth-generation professional ballplayer, reflected on his childhood in the ’60s and ’70s in Meridian, Mississippi.
“My whole family grew up playing baseball,” Boyd said. “I’d often hear names like Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, and Cool Papa Bell, and I’d try to imitate them, too.”
Boyd played collegiately at Jackson State University before the Red Sox selected him in the 16th round of the 1980 amateur draft. The lithe and affable right-hander catapulted the Red Sox into the World Series in 1986 with a career-high 16 wins. His battery-mate was Gedman, Worcester’s own two-time All-Star and Red Sox Hall of Famer.
Like Boyd, Jordan grew up in the segregated South. He credited Robinson with giving him the belief that times would change. Now the co-founder of the Boston Area Church League and Special Advisor to the Red Sox for two decades, Jordan devotes himself to bringing positive change to Boston’s youth through baseball.
“Baseball as a sport has done so much to open the door of communication that bring people together,” Jordan said. “To the kids: Get to know your classmates. Get to know your friends. You will find that we all have so much in common. That is the best avenue to change the world and make it a better place.”
Gedman echoed the sentiment.
“[In a clubhouse], the most important thing is listening, to hear what other people think and feel,” Gedman said. “Sometimes we assume everyone thinks like we do. Everyone is a part of the team, and [in WooSox ’21], nobody thought they were more special than anyone else, and we went out and played like a team.”
Steinberg concluded the WooSox’ third annual event with the reminder that positive change takes time, courage, and a willingness to get involved, adding that it’s already in motion for women in baseball. He pointed to the New York Yankees’ recent hiring of Rachel Balkovec, baseball’s first woman manager. Days after, the Red Sox became the first organization to have two women coaches in their organization in Bianca Smith and Katie Krall.
“The next Jackie Robinson is going to be Jacqueline Robinson,” Steinberg said. “Women are great athletes who play their hearts out, and no woman should be deprived of playing baseball if she can play. You might just find that there’s a woman who can throw that ball with the best of them and run like the wind.”
Perhaps the future Jacqueline Robinson heard his words Monday.
Manchester, N.H. — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) and the Fisher Cats Foundation are pleased to open applications for the 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In anticipation of Black History Month in February, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are inviting students to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in the club’s annual essay writing contest.
SOUTH BEND, IN – With winter break over and many schools resuming class, the South Bend Cubs are proud to announce the return of Swoop & Stu’s Reading Club, presented by Indiana 811 and NIPSCO. Teachers and administrators have until February 7 to register.
GRAND CHUTE, WI – Timber Rattlers Give Back, the official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, raised more than $185,000 through the Foundation’s events, programs, donations, and fundraising initiatives in 2021.
The Bisons are now accepting applications for internship positions for the 2022 Baseball Season! 
CORPUS CHRISTI – Via the Astros Foundation Share2Care 50/50 Raffle, Whataburger Field patrons donated $64,840 to seven Coastal Bend organizations during Hooks games this past season.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Enrollment is now open for the 2022 Fort Wayne TinCaps Reading Program.
ST. PAUL, MN (October 1, 2021) – The Minnesota Twins today announced the 2021 Harmon Killebrew Award winners for outstanding minor league community service. Following the Hall of Famer’s death in 2011, the Twins have annually recognized a player from each of the organization’s full-season affiliates. Each player is nominated by their respective general manager for their service within the affiliate’s community. A plaque is awarded, in addition to an on-field presentation during spring training. Though opportunities for community involvement were limited in 2021 due to COVID restrictions, this year’s winners made the best of the circumstances to make an impact in their respective cities.