Magic Johnson is taking the steps trail blazed by Jackie Robinson 65 years ago to new heights

Jackie Robinson



Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson and Jackie Robinson were exceptionally gifted professional athletes in their respective sports. Both represent positive societal change. And both men employed their “celebrity status” after their playing days to give back to the community.

In 1947, second basement Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the modern era of Major League Baseball by becoming the first African-American player to take the field alongside white players with the then, Brooklyn Dodgers. After baseball, he was one of the founders of an African-American owned bank.

Fast-forward 65 years later, former National Basketball Association superstar, now successful businessman, broadcaster and philanthropist Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who led the “Show Time” Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships, is now part of an ownership group that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team for mindboggling $2.15 billion.

Robinson was instrumental in ending racial segregation in pro baseball
Robinson, who died in 1972 at the age of 53 from complications of heart disease and diabetes, had an exceptional baseball career. He played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored.

Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. MLB retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.

Off the field, Robinson was the first black big league television analyst, and the first black vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

Magic is instrumental in ushering in a new era in professional sports management
Magics' career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances and 12 All-Star games. Johnson was a member of the 1992 "Dream Team", that won the gold in the 1992 Olympic.

Among his ventures: He runs Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company that has a net worth of $700 million. He owns a promotional company, a nationwide chain of movie theaters, a movie studio and is now a studio analyst for ESPN's NBA coverage. He was once a minority owner of the Lakers.

Magic is remembered for his November 7, 1991 press conference where he announced he had tested positive for HIV, which forced him to eventually retire from the NBA. Since, he has been an outspoken crusader for HIV/AIDS awareness and has been created with changing negative opinions about the disease.

The fact that Magic is black is a big deal. He is the face of the new Dodger ownership. His respectability, clout, personality and of course, business savvy – and wealth – speaks volumes about where big league baseball has come and where it is going. Perhaps Magic presence can encourage more young black youths to play sandlot baseball again - a sight we don't see to much of these days.

Magic is to be admired for his business dealings since leaving basketball. He is a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs – young and old alike. Yes, Magic is filling pretty big shoes worn by Jackie Robinson. But he’s knows the steps; Show Time is back in LA.