Jackie made history in Lynn

LYNN – Jackie Robinson stole home at least 20 times in his baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers – and he also stole the hearts of Lynn?s black community with his first and only visit here.Robinson?s little-known trip to Lynn took place on May 17, 1967, when Attorney Irving E. Kane was the city?s mayor. Kane, who still has a law office in Lynn, remembers vividly his meeting with Jack Roosevelt Robinson.?(He) was our special guest of honor at a Black History function held at St. Michael?s Hall in West Lynn,” said Kane. “I invited him to the event, and he flew in from his home, then in Stamford, Conn.”This was for Black History Week – which has since been expanded to Black History Month in February. Robinson was invited to speak at an NAACP event at St. Michael?s Hall honoring another black hero, Jan Matzeliger, who, while in Lynn, invented the shoe lasting machine. A sculpture of Matzeliger is can be seen in the lobby of the Lynn Public Library.Robinson is the first black man to break Major League Baseball?s color barrier – an experience recounted in the movie “42.” Kane arranged for a police escort into the city from Logan Airport.At the dinner, Robinson spoke eloquently about Matzeliger and also on the topic of civil rights. That summer, President Lyndon B. Johnson and the nation were battling major urban rest. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (who was assassinated one year later at age 39) and Robinson were among the many blacks who led the civil rights movement.Kane and his wife, Mary Judith Kane, who now live in Swampscott, still have memories of Robinson?s only known Lynn appearance – especially the harrowing ride with him when they accompanied him back to the airport.?Jackie had a plane to catch, and it was getting late,” said Kane, who ordered another escort for the trip back to Logan.?It was the wildest and most fantastic ride I ever had as we sped and swerved past cars ahead, with sirens screaming, to Logan Airport,” Mary Judith Kane said. “I was nervous about the speed, but the great Jackie just sat there very calmly with a warm smile and remained very relaxed as we arrived in time for his plane.”Also at the dinner was Sam Jones of the Boston Celtics, who admitted on several occasion that Robinson was his idol growing up.Hosting the event was Abner Darby, president of the Lynn-area branch of the NAACP. Lynn City Council President Harold J. McLaughlin was also among other high-level dignitaries.Although he never played in Lynn, two of Robinson?s “Boys of Summer” teammates did: Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe – both as part of the minor league Nashua Dodgers. Nashua often dueled with the Lynn Red Sox, who played at Fraser Field, during the 1940s.Robinson?s historic 1947 season went beyond breaking the color barrier. He was also Rookie of the Year. Two years later, he was the National League?s MVP. He helped lead the Dodgers to six pennants and a 1955 World Series triumph championship, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.The 1967 “Impossible Dream” pennant race was beginning to take shape when Robinson visited, but he was not pulling for the Red Sox (with former St. Mary?s star Tony Conigliaro among them), who ultimately cashed in on 100-1 odds to win the flag. Robinson said the Red Sox had once given him a reluctant tryout at Fenway Park with no intentions of signing him. The Red Sox were the last team in big league baseball to sign a black player.The Kanes have a scrapbook of Robinson?s visit. Mary Ruth Kane is from New York, and was well aware of Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese and the other “Boys of Summer.” She eventually came to the Boston area to study at Tufts University where she met her future husband.Another lasting Robinson memory for Mary Judith Kane was being surprised that Robinson, then 47, had white hair.?I learned later that he was suffering from heart disease. He eventually died at age 53 of a heart attack in 1972, just five years after we met,” she said, sadly, adding “Jackie Robin