"In 1947 as a young boy living within walking distance of Ebbets Field, I was a dyed in the wool Brooklyn Dodger fan. The story of Jackie Robinson’s entry into major league baseball with the Dodgers is well known. Although I didn’t see Jackie play on his debut day, I did see him play several times that season. What isn’t nearly so well known is the second black player to play in the majors. It was August,1947. The news was out that Dan Bankhead, a black pitcher had signed with the Dodgers. On August 26th, a neighbor said he had a pair of tickets for the upper stands behind first base. He said the Dodgers had announced Bankhead might go in in relief, if needed. Would I like to go with him? Needless to say, I leapt at the chance. When we got to our seats, I noticed that the negro attendance was larger than usual. We were all hoping to see him. Sure enough, he got the call. Guess what. In his first time at bat in the major leagues he hit a home run into the left field stands. There was mayhem among the crowd at Ebbets Field that day. This is one boy who still remembers that incident of 63 years ago."

- Martin Druckerman