On this day in 1972 the great Jackie Robinson made his last appearance at a major league ballpark when he threw out the first pitch before Game 2 of the 1972 World Series. He spoke that day of looking forward to the day when baseball hired its first black manager. Jackie Roosevelt Robinson would be dead in nine days.

I remember seeing him and thinking how old and awful he looked. I didn’t know the full extent of his health issues. He was only 53 years old. I have never seen an older looking 53 year old in my life. I remember walking home from school and stopping at the local store and seeing the headlines “Jackie Robinson Dead” and thinking, he was just at the ballgame the other day.  Jackie would miss being around to see Frank Robinson becoming the first black manager in the major leagues in 1975 with the Cleveland Indians.