Then Cincinnati’s right fielder, Ken Griffey Jr. asked then-Commissioner Bud Selig and Robinson’s widow, Rachel, for permission to wear No. 42 on what was the 60th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“I just called Bud and asked him if I could do it,” Griffey said back in 2007. “[Selig] made a couple of phone calls and said yeah. We had a good conversation. It was about me wearing it on that day, and only that day.”
Rachel Robinson gave her approval, and not only did Selig like Griffey’s idea, he encouraged other clubs to have their players wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day. A couple of years later, every player on every club wore that number for one game only.
“He should be an inspiration not only to baseball players but to anyone who fights prejudice and hatred,” Griffey said of Robinson at the time.
In that 2007 game, Griffey was the lone Red to wear 42, while six members of the Cubs also wore it. They stood together at home plate during the pregame ceremonies. Griffey also wore No. 42 once before with the Mariners, on the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s historic debut.