CAIRO, Ga. (WTXL) — A special visitor showed up in Grady County Friday. World Series Trophy the Atlanta Braves won last fall made its debut on Jackie Robinson Day!
It arrived in Cairo just in time for another special occasion
Kids from the Boys and Girls Club named for him got a special round of inspiration with the trophy’s visit.
“I spent my life at this park and the sixes playing baseball down here my brothers and sisters. To have Jackie Robinson for the Braves to represent him and come back here we love it,” said Timothy Simmons.
Timothy Simmons grew up in Cairo. He said it was important to share this day with his granddaughter.
“To see that someone from a small town like Cairo can grow up where the world still celebrates his name and what he did it’s an honor to be here,” said Simmons.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson changed Major League Baseball by becoming the first African-American player to play at the highest level for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Friday, the Jackie Robinson Boys and Girls Club reminded the kids that they can also change the world.
“We instill in our kids that Jackie Robinson was born here. You come out of the same dirt, the same clay,” said Stephen Francis.
Stephen Francis, Director of the Jackie Robinson Boys and Girls club said he wants his students to stand up for what they believe in.
Robinson’s legacy continues to live in the Cairo community.
He was born here, now, said Amy Hagan having the World Series Trophy visit here too,
“In little Cairo has just been amazing,” said Amy Hagan.
She said the Atlanta Braves Baseball team has gifted them with so much.
People were lined up for hours waiting to take photos with the trophy.
People from all cultures and neighborhoods.
A unity Simmons said is needed.
“The boys and girls club the young men and women they are the future of this country so for them to be able to see that just how small we are people still notice you I’m just glad that our young people could see that,” said Simmons.
A historic day giving the kids of the club a memory they will never forget.
The Atlanta Braves gifted the Jackie Robinson Boys and Club a new van and each board director was given a 2021 championship ring.
