(Jewish Group) How Jackie Robinson became a young Jewish boy's lifelong friend [View all]

In the 1950s, Jackie Robinson became penpals with a Jewish kid from Wisconsin, sang to him at his 10th birthday party and congratulated him on his bar mitzvah.

On Friday, when baseball marks the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier, Ron Rabinovitz will remember his boyhood hero -– as a civil rights icon but also as a friend.

“We were so different,” Rabinovitz said. “I was white. He was Black. I was Jewish. He was Christian. I was a kid. He was an adult. I was from a little town in the Midwest. He was from a large city out east. And yet, there was this bond of friendship and love.”

The story of Rabinovitz’s relationship to Robinson is a small chapter in the baseball legend’s life. But it’s also a testament to the strong man’s gentle side and loyalty. Robinson didn’t just write a few letters to the young Rabinovitz. He kept up with him long past his days on the diamond. And he taught him, close up, how friendship can transcend differences.



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