April 15 and 16: A Celebration of Jackie Robinson… and Record Stores?

There are many random holidays that happen throughout the year that relate to sports, music, film, etc.  For example, today is Jackie Robinson Day. Yep, today is devoted to this famous player. Also, tomorrow marks Record Store Day.

On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier for baseball when he stepped on the field that famous day and played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. According to the Major League Baseball, that season the Dodger player started “151 games at first base” for his team. The baseball hero was then given the honor of being named the 1947 Rookie of the year. There was controversy to his playing where some of his own white teammates refused to play on the same field as him. It ended when Leo Durocher, the team manager, stood up for Robinson. In 1956 Robinson retired and then sadly passed away at the age of 53 on October 24, 1972. His wife years later founded The Jackie Robinson Foundation.

Today is the 8^th annual Jackie Robinson day. To celebrate this historic player, all the on-field personnel and the players will be wearing the No. 42 Jersey, the same uniform number Robinson wore during his nine years baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is the only day players get to wear the number since its retirement on April 15, 1997.

The only player still actively wearing the number 42 is Mariano Rivera because of the grandfather clause which gave all players who were wearing that number at that time of its retirement, the option of keeping the number.

Another holiday that many people may not recognize is the Record Store Day. This holiday is one for the music lovers. It first started in 2007 and is reportedly celebrated globally as recognition of local independent record shops. Every year, Record Store Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of April. Tomorrow a variety of music groups, including Foo Fighters, Green Day & Husker Du, and Radiohead, will be releasing songs, album covers, and more. Road Runner Records announced that Ozzy Osbourne is appointed as the Record Store Day Ambassador 2011.

The event is run by the Music Monitor Network each year and is organized by both The Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS) and the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. These independent record stores are given the opportunity to play as hosts for in-store performances as well as events such as signings and special music releases. According to the Record Store Day site, this is the only day that “all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music.”

These two holidays happen every year, and each one’s intent is to bring people together by their common passion, whether it be baseball or music.

Pictures from Paul Lowry, Peter Bond, Kevin Burkett, and Richard Riley via Flickr.