Ex-Tigers employee inspires Detroit kids through his fascination with Jackie Robinson

The date was April 15, 1947. And the line from a baseball box score showed that one player, who started the game at Ebbets Field playing first base for the host Brooklyn Dodgers, was hitless in three official at-bats.

Nonetheless, that same player found a way to score the deciding run in a 5-3 Dodgers victory over the Boston Braves, after reaching first base in the seventh inning following an error.

That player, who began the game wearing a pristine home white Dodgers uniform with the No. 42 on the back, was Jack Roosevelt Robinson.

Jackie Robinson’s debut for the Dodgers marked the breaking of the “color line” in modern major league baseball, the same color line within professional baseball that had been broken in 1884 when another proud Black man, Moses Fleetwood Walker — a standout catcher on an undefeated University of Michigan baseball team in 1882 — integrated the American Association by joining the Toledo Blue Stockings.

The contributions to baseball history made by Walker — affectionately known as “Fleet” by students at the University of Michigan where he was enrolled in law school — are unknown to most people. But a lifelong Detroiter is on a mission to make sure Jackie Robinson’s legacy is never forgotten, particularly among young people in Detroit.

“Jackie Robinson is definitely the trailblazer when it comes to African American athletes,” says Sam Abrams, who spoke during the late afternoon of April 10 prior to presenting a symposium focused on Robinson’s life to a group of Detroit students that participate in after-school activities at Tindal Recreation Center, 10301 West Seven Mile Road, near the McDowell neighborhood in northwest Detroit. “Think about what he was able to accomplish in the (19)40s, and even before the Brooklyn Dodgers in college (at UCLA) where he earned so many letters while excelling in different sports. And he did all of these things while overcoming barriers that we can’t even imagine today.”

To better understand what brought the 56-year-old Abrams to Tindal on April 10 requires backtracking to a time when he served as the manager of Youth and Sports Programs and Player Relations for the Detroit Tigers. For over a decade, Abrams' duties included being a go-to person for youth coaches and other organizations that wished to connect with the Tigers in ways that enrich the Detroit community. As Abrams focused on doing good things for people in his hometown through his work, the Tigers also were pretty darn good on the playing field during most of those years that included multiple postseason appearances. But, despite the brilliance of Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Jim Leyland and others, Abrams said he found himself thinking more about a Hall of Famer who played his last game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.

“I grew up playing baseball. And when I started working for the Tigers (in 2006), one of the projects that we had was an essay competition,” explained Abrams, who played second base for Chadsey High School (Class of 1985) and capped his high school career by playing in a Detroit Public School League championship game at Tiger Stadium. “But as I was looking at the essays, I realized that the kids had even more talent — they could think, they could draw and they could write poetry. So, I turned the competition into the Jackie Robinson Art, Essay and Poetry Competition.

“And during the time that we were conducting the competitions, I just became more and more fascinated by Jackie Robinson and everything he overcame.”

Abrams' “fascination” with Robinson led Abrams to develop “The Nine Values of an American Legend,” a symposium focusing on values that Robinson’s life embodied, which Abrams first began presenting to young audiences in 2017.

“Trying to teach young people about someone who broke the color barrier in 1947 before even many of their parents were born is somewhat of a stretch,” said Abrams, who substitutes baseball equipment like bats, balls and gloves, for visual presentations — such as movies about Robinson’s life and photos of Robinson and other inspirational people — and roundtable discussions during presentations that he tailors specifically for each young audience. “But the purpose of this program is to teach young people about those nine values — courage, commitment, citizenship, determination, excellence, teamwork, justice, persistence and integrity — and try to identify ways that they can incorporate them into their own lives.”

On April 10, with an audience of 14 students from Detroit schools, Abrams focused solely on two values, courage and commitment. However, for the enthusiastic symposium facilitator who was on his feet and often on the move during his hourlong presentation, his time spent at the center was about friendship, too, due to the presence of his friend of 50 years, Maria Adams-Lawton, who also is the executive director of the Tindal Recreation Center.

“It’s just like watching our friendship come full circle,” said Adams-Lawton, who operates her nonprofit after-school program for youths, Healthy Kidz Inc., out of Tindal. “When Sam and I were younger, we never thought we would be doing the things that we’re doing now. We just played out in the middle of the street; and we would grab a stick to play baseball, or we would play football, and I would be the only girl out there running around. It’s just great to see how all of this has come to fruition as we pass off the baton to these young people. The kids hearing Sam’s presentation may not know anything about baseball and Jackie Robinson now, but guess what? They’re about to learn.”

Abrams and Adams-Lawton joked before the symposium that as children growing up on the “longest block in the world,” on Leslie Street in the Russell Woods neighborhood, that Adams-Lawton was always a happy passenger on the handlebars of “Dobby’s” (Abrams’ nickname in the neighborhood) bike whenever he rode to a park behind Winterhalter School to play baseball for the Pirates in the Broadstreet Presbyterian Church League. Abrams confided that producing the same level of joy among the students hearing his presentation on April 10 would be a far greater “challenge.” But judging from the way the boys and girls increased their level of participation in the discussions the longer the program went on and their studious expressions throughout, it was clear that by the time Abrams dismissed the group he had made an impression on the students.

“Before this, I really didn’t know just how much Jackie Robinson was bullied for being Black on a baseball team,” said Deaven Johnson, a sixth grader at Bates Academy, who was able to build on information she learned in school about Robinson as a fifth grader. “I didn’t know how he felt about being bullied, and from what we saw today, I realized that he felt angry.”

Johnson added that the program was “important” and “really cool,” which is why she said she will share what she learned with family and friends.

It was that type of response and willingness of the group as a whole to receive the information from Abrams that brought a smile to the face of Kimberly Hubbard, a child care specialist who works with youths that participate in morning and afternoon “latchkey programs” operated out of Tindal.

“I love the knowledge they were given,” said Hubbard, whose smile and periodic nods of approval indicated what she felt about the material without Hubbard having to say a word. “They discussed courage and commitment, and I believe those values need to be pushed to this generation a little bit more. These kids need to learn how to find the courage to be themselves and what it means to be committed to a sport or any other activity that will help them to develop.”

On Monday evening, April 15, Abrams, through The DAVAS Foundation, a nonprofit organization he established to “enrich the lives of youth aged 7-21 in the greater Detroit region,” expects to take 60 children and adults to Comerica Park when the Tigers host the Texas Rangers during major league baseball’s Jackie Robinson Day, which includes the wearing of Robinson’s retired jersey No. 42 by all players for one special day.

Hubbard said she is happy for all of the people that will be attending the game and special ceremonies at Comerica Park. But she also is hopeful that Abrams will return to Tindal to teach the remainder of the nine values that Abrams teaches in the symposium. And in the process, she says, he will be strengthening what her center provides to the community.

“Tindal is all about support,” says Hubbard, who, like a baseball utility player, handles many tasks on a daily basis, including helping with homework, engaging children in indoor and outdoor activities, providing emotional support, performing clerical duties and more. “The biggest thing is to make a difference in our community and that’s what I’m here for. Anything I’m asked to do, I do.”

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber. 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sam Abrams makes connection to Detroit youth through Jackie Robinson