Little League Museum Details History of Jackie Robinson Announcing 1965 LLWS Game

WILLIAMSPORT, LYCOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — As part of Black History Month, Eyewitness News continues to share stories of people that left their mark in history here locally.

In Williamsport, one the greatest names in baseball came to co-host one of the Little League World Series. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to know the legacy of the great Jackie Robinson. In 1947 he made history by becoming the first Black baseball player in Major League Baseball.

“I’m sure that he still went through a lot of hard times that you know most of us would never experience but he still kind of persevered and became one of the best baseball players of all time,” Little League World Series Museum Director Adam Thompson said.

The Little League World Series wasn’t around when Robinson was a kid, but in 1965 he made his way to Williamsport to announce a game.

“He signed autographs, he got to interact with the fans and in 1965 he actually came and worked with ABC and Jim McKay in the booth where he did the announcing of the 1965 championship game,” Thompson said.

Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He had many All-Star records and strides in baseball history. His number 42 was permanently retired in Major League Baseball.

“It actually started at the White House, we had a t-ball game and the Little Leaguers had the number retired, they weren’t allowed to wear that number. And we also kind of carried that on here and this number was actually unveiled at the Little League World Series in the early 2000s. Thompson said.

Although Robinson never played in the World Series, he still left part of his legacy in Williamsport.

“He says a lot of great things about Little League, which is really nice. I think he really saw how important the program for kids,” Thompson said.