I think of Jackie Robinson and the real service he provided to millions of people - players and fans alike - when he broke a long standing barrier and opened the big leagues to black athletes. As Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, prepared Robinson to sign a contract, he wondered if the young player would be equal to the challenge. Would Robinson be able to stay out of fights, both on and off the field? Could he behave in such a way that he would neither arouse black fans nor openly antagonize white fans? Obviously, Robinson was going to need to be more than just a great player of baseball.

One day, Rickey called Robinson into his office and showed him a copy of Giovanni Papini’s book, The Life of Christ. Then he quoted these words: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

"Now," Rickey said softly to Robinson, "can you do it? You will have to promise that for the first three years in baseball, you will turn your other cheek. I know you are naturally combative. But for three years - three years - you will have to do it the only way it can be done. Three years - can you do it?" Robinson was a devout Christian, but he was going to pay a high price - both for himself and as a service to generations of athletes who would walk the path that he had opened.