Let the Games Begin

Club 42’s Opening Weekend Culminates in Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Tournament Honoring Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson changed the  game forever when he broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier and his courage has stood as a source of inspiration to generations of sports fans ever since. He once said “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

So it was fitting that Club 42, a program created to carry on Robinson’s legacy, ended its opening weekend with an exhibition tournament on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day –the holiday dedicated to America’s foremost civil rights leader.

“This is special and I don’t know who’s having more fun – the kids or their parents,” said Club 42 co-founder John Branca, nephew of former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, one of Robinson’s closest teammates. “Jackie would be proud.”

An initiative between Westside families and families of the MLB Urban Youth Academy, Club 42 is the brainchild of Branca and youth pitching coach Johnny Buc Lockwood, but Palisades mom Melissa Bowden was instrumental in turning their idea into reality.

“Club 42 is a ‘blindside buddy system’ between two communities, one mostly white and one mostly black, as the kids all grow up playing ball together. This has all come together in such a short time and it’s mostly because of Melissa,” Lockwood said. “She knows how to get the word out and get people involved.”

Lockwood asked Bowden to be the Co-Executive Director with him last summer and since then the project has grown by leaps and bounds. Their efforts culminated in a pre-game ceremony in September at Dodger Stadium, where John Branca’s 10-year-old son Dylan threw out the first pitch.

Dylan Branca was back on the mound Monday, pitching for the Dodgers in a four-team round robin at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. Each team was named after one of the ones Robinson played for during his career: UCLA, the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League, the Montreal Royals of the International League and the Dodgers.

Among Dylan Branca’s teammates Monday were Bowden’s son Jack and fellow Pacific Palisades Baseball Association All-Stars Sammy Petrocelli, John Danco, Alex Denham, Caden Abraham and Marty Kaplan, who hit an RBI double to the right field wall in a victory over the Royals.

“It was really fun,” said Abraham, who got to pitch and play in the field. “Now a lot of inner city kids  are my friends. We come up with handshakes and talk about things we know.”

The Monarchs won both of their games aided by PPBA All-Stars Jack Gurevitch, Lucas Herman, Holden Gering, Dylan Tatum and Malibu’s Royce Clayton, whose dad played in the Major Leagues. The games were not about winning and losing, but about uniting kids from different backgrounds and continuing the legacy of a baseball legend.

“This weekend taught me a lot about Jackie Robinson,” Gering said. “I learned that he could do anything. He made this whole thing happen. If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be here.”

The weekend’s activities began Saturday when former Texas Rangers and New York Mets skipper Bobby Valentine joined UCLA coach John Savage and Bruins players for a clinic with the kids (ages 9-12) at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

“When I found out about Club 42 I wanted to be involved because Jackie grew up right here in Southern California, went to UCLA and impacted the sport more than anyone in history,” Savage said. “We’re fortunate to have nice facilities and we want the kids to be able to use them.”

Valentine is married to Ralph Branca’s daughter Mary and flew out for the weekend from Connecticut, where he is the Athletic Director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine also attended Sunday night’s private screening of the 2013 movie “42” at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.

“It’s a brilliant and beautiful documentary about Jackie’s life,” said Valentine, the weekend’s honorary coach. “He and Ralph had a special friendship.”

While watching Monday’s tournament, Valentine  was asked  about his most thrilling moment in baseball.

“Just having the opportunity to play the game and manage at the highest level,” he said. “I love seeing kids this age play because they’re our future. This program is a great way to the grow the game.”

Lockwood has worked with Branca for 20 years and his great grandfather was friends with the O’Malley family. Walter O’Malley owned the Dodgers from 1950 to 1979 and was the organization’s chief legal counsel when Robinson signed as a free agent with the club in 1945.

“What was great about the clinic [at UCLA] is that all the players came out to meet our kids and asked them how they were doing in school,” said Bowden, who handed players from each team ribbons of honor with the number 42 on them. “It was nice to see them stress grades because for players aspiring to go to college academics are important.”

More than 50 boys are now committed to the program with over 30 African American families from Ladera Little League along with players from the Palisades, Beverly Hills and Pasadena. The program has received its nonprofit status and fundraising will begin for the Club 42 scholarship fund.