AnirudhaSomething Of Value
McEntee was amazed by the revelation. She couldn’t believe her fate that she was actually holding a baseball bat that once belonged to the legendary Jackie Robinson. She was ready to sell this precious bat for $1 and because of Scapecchi, she found out the truth about the bat. She was also happy about the fact that her children had had the opportunity to play with this bat. “So [the bat] went from being on the ground, under a table, ready to be sold for $1, to in the house very quickly!” she said.
Falling Into Their Hands
But the real question was, how did this bat come under the possession of the McEntee family? After she told about the family history dots started to connect. Though there are incidents when star player shows his gratitude towards his fans by giving away his personal on-ground belongings, here this wasn’t the case.
Passing The Torch
As it turned out, Sue’s uncle happened to be Joe Hatten. She continued to explain to the news station, “My uncle, Joe Hatten, played for the Brooklyn Dodgers,” she informed KCCI. “He was a left-handed pitcher – they called him ‘Lefty Joe’ – and he and Jackie played baseball together in the ’40s.” Scapecchi was surprised by the turn of events. His whole childhood was once again in front of his eyes. He’d watched Hatten and Jackie playing together on the field. But there was more to the story.
Ahead Of His Time
Hatten was always generous towards Robinson. He did not care what the world would think of his friendship with Jackie. “[Hatten] was one of the few players who would room with Jackie Robinson,” Scapecchi exclaimed to KCCI. “And I just thought that was incredible.”
Lashing Out
When Robinson was chosen in Major Leagues, there were many who were critical about the decision, as his stats weren’t as good as other players in the Negro League. But Robinson was adamant on becoming a baseball player and Brooklyn was already interested in drafting a black player.
In The Nick Of Time
The discovery of Jackie Robinson’s bat became even more auspicious because of the World College Series that was taking place during this time. That year, the organizers had also decided to put on an exhibition on the history of professional African American baseball players with the help of the Great Plains Black History Museum. When Jim Beatty, exhibition curator caught wind of Scapecchi’s discovery, he knew this can be an amazing chance for the American people to know about some great legends of baseball.