Macon Bacon Retire Jackie Robinson s Number 42 Jersey for Decades Night
MACON (41NBC/WMGT), Georgia On Thursday night, the Macon Bacon retired a jersey number that was well-known worldwide: 42. This was a first for the team.
The team celebrated Jackie Robinson’s groundbreaking legacy in American baseball by retiring his iconic number in a pregame ceremony as part of Decades Night at historic Luther Williams Field. To commemorate the event, a commemorative No. 42 was unveiled on the field wall in left-center.
The event was led by Brandon Raphael, president and co-owner of Macon Bacon, and was attended by local kids from the Macon RBI baseball program as well as organization members. They shared stories about the life and achievements of Robinson, a native of Georgia who famously broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947.
For the game against the Catawba Valley Stars that evening, all of the Macon Bacon players donned vintage-style pinstripe jerseys with Robinson’s number 42 sewn on them in his honor.
The pregame ceremony was heartfelt and significant, but the Bacon were unable to generate much momentum on the field. Early on, there was a calm pitching battle between the two sides, with Macon only managing two hits in six innings.
When the Stars scored the first run of the game in the top of the seventh inning due to consecutive defensive blunders, it was a game-changing moment. The traveling team increased their lead in the last inning, exploiting errors to score nine more runs and defeating the Bacon 10–2.
Following the defeat, Macon will concentrate on playing the Florence Flamingos on the road on Saturday night. At 7 p.m., the first pitch is scheduled.
