April 15, 2022 will mark the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Temple's Claire Smith Center for Sports Media’s host a symposium to examine the history made by Robinson and the Dodgers nearly 20 years before the Civil Rights movement.
The hybrid symposium, scheduled to begin at noon ET, will feature these groundbreakers and iconic sports figures, among others:
- Keynote speaker Dusty Baker, manager of the Houston Astros and iconic player
- Larry Doby Jr., son of the Hall of Famer who broke the color barrier in the American League in July 1947
- Sean Gibson, great grandson of Josh Gibson and head of the Josh Gibson Foundation
- Billy King, former 76ers president and only African American to hold such a position with one of the city’s four major professional sports
- Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Museum, Kansas City
- Melissa Ludtke, reporter who, along with Sports Illustrated, filed the lawsuit that that opened MLB clubhouses to women reporters
- Branch Rickey III, grandson of the Dodgers owner who signed Jackie Robinson in 1947
- C. Vivian Stringer, first African American women’s coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame; only coach to take three different universities to the NCAA Division I Championship Game
Presentations by Temple Journalism students and on-campus news outlets. Following the event, guests are invited to a networking session.
Also invited to participate:
- Aaron McKie, Temple’s men’s basketball head coach; former 76ers standout
- Ryan Howard, former Phillies All-Star and NL MVP
The Claire Smith Center for Sports Media wishes to thank its Champions Circle founding sponsors
- Major League Baseball
- Major League Baseball Players Association
- Comcast NBCUniversal