NASCAR’s Jackie Robinson
On April 15, 2007, Major League Baseball paid tribute to Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color barrier. Many of the players paid tribute also by wearing his No. 42, temporarily brought out of retirement for the occasion. My fellow 451 Press blogger Anthony at Fastball Fans has some terrific videos of Jackie in his hey day.
This tribute has triggered a concern in the NASCAR community that they have may have missed the chance to honor their own pioneer, Wendell Scott. Scott was the first and only African-American driver in NASCAR. Not that they can’t do it now, but after 44 years with hardly any fanfare, it would almost be like an after thought.
Yahoo Sports has a nice article about Wendell entitled “Great Scott: Baseball gives NASCAR a lesson in cherishing a pioneer”. So check it out and enjoy a little NASCAR history.
Till the next Pit Stop…..
NASCAR, Jackie Robinson, Wendell Scott, FastballFans.com, Yahoo Sports
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