I'm just working on a few bedtime stories for Don Imus

Sunday is the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first major league game with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

From the book First in the Field:
"Robinson was a determined man and a gifted athlete. In his two years at UCLA, Jackie became the university's first 'four-letter' man and left there as a sports legend. Unfortunately because of his color, doors to professional sports were not readily open. It wasn't until a few years later in 1945 that he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers."

From Hank Aaron, in Time magazine:
"I was 14 years old when I first saw Jackie Robinson. It was the spring of 1948, the year after Jackie changed my life by breaking baseball's color line. His team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, made a stop in my hometown of Mobile, Ala., while barnstorming its way north to start the season, and while he was there, Jackie spoke to a big crowd of black folks over on Davis Avenue. I think he talked about segregation, but I didn't hear a word that came out of his mouth. Jackie Robinson was such a hero to me that I couldn't do anything but gawk at him."

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My son plays for St. Paul's Midway Baseball and took a clinic with longtime coaches Steve Winfield (Dave's brother) and Billy Peterson, infamous Little League coach and mentor to both Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor. Coach Peterson was one of the influential people Molitor thanked at his Hall of Fame induction.

Before my son and his teammates were sent home for the afternoon, instead of talking about wins and losses and pop flies and grounders, Winfield and Peterson spent time talking about Robinson's courage and talent.

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Dave Winfield talks about his days playing Midway baseball in St. Paul.

From Answers.com:
"'Considering that we grew up in a broken home, we had a happy childhood because of the love and affection our mother gave us,' he said. When the Winfield brothers did venture out, they usually strayed no farther than the Oxford Playground in the next block. There they were befriended by Bill Peterson, the playground director, who encouraged them to play basketball and baseball. 'Bill Peterson was a white man in the black community,' Winfield recalled in the interview, 'but he gave more to that community than anyone I know. To me, at different times, he was coach, friend, father, all rolled into one.' The guidance he received as a youngster was not lost on Winfield. When he became a top-earning major league baseball player he founded an organization to help needy children, especially those in San Diego and New York City."

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From Twin Cities.com:
One of Paul Molitor's teammates talked about the St. Paulite a few years back, when Molitor was nearing 3,000 hits. "'Paul is going as strong as ever at 40. If he didn't get hurt, he'd be closing in on 4,000 hits.' Twins manager Tom Kelly marveled at Molitor's influence, 'Molly is one of those rare players who makes the other people around him better. It starts in the clubhouse, but where it really matters is out on the field, when the players see how a professional like Paul Molitor handles himself.' "

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Coach Billy told the story to my son and the other Little Leaguers about Molitor working hard as a kid to perfect his sport. Molitor, who came from a family of 8 kids, would throw a baseball over the roof of his house and then run around the house so he could catch the ball on the other side. He did this over and over.

Now, I'm no fool when it comes to the state of sports in America--can you say "Duke thugs get their cake and eat it too?" And as somone who makes her living in the arts, God knows what we could do with the money poured into these new stadiums. But it's amazing what all these elite athletes--from kids in St. Paul to the young women in New Jersey--go through to excel in their particular sport.

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One of my hometown favorites, Ashley Ellis-Milan, St. Paul Central graduate and center for the Gophers women's basketball team, along with her Gophers teammates, recently sponsored a "Girls Night Out" at the Sports Pavilion. Over 100 inner-city girls had a chance to work out with the Gophers, see behind-the-scenes locker and weight rooms, and find out about being a Division-1 athlete. The St. Paul Parks coordinator said, "The Gopher players are wonderful working with the girls and it’s a great opportunity for them to interact with some solid role models" (from Gophersports.com).

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BTW, thinking about the Molitor warm-up drill, I'd better warn my neighbors now.