Latest / Children's Hour / 1.25.25 - Part 1
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome Trea Eyes. Tuner's story Hour as a
- 0:05reminder realize the reading service intended for people who are
- 0:09blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
- 0:13read printed material. Today we will be written from various
- 0:17books on black Americans. Your reader today is Diane. We
- 0:24will begin with the book Michael Jordan Basketball Legend. It
- 0:29was published by press Room Editions. It has a copyright
- 0:34ear of twenty twenty four and the author of our
- 0:38book is Luke Hanlon. Chapter one six, ver six, Michael
- 0:45Jordan watched intently as Utah Jazz power forward Karl Malone
- 0:50grabbed the ball in the post. Then Jordan's defensive instincts
- 0:54kicked in. The Chicago Bulls guards broke free from the
- 0:58player he was guarding. He caught Malone by surprise from behind.
- 1:02After one quick swipe from Jordan, the Bulls had the
- 1:05ball back. Only twenty seconds remained in Game six of
- 1:09the nineteen ninety eight National Basketball Association Finals. The Jazz
- 1:15were leading eighty six to eighty five, but the Chicago
- 1:19Bulls led the series three to two, and winning Utah
- 1:23would clinched Jordan's sixth NBA title. The seconds ticked away,
- 1:28Jordan dribbled the ball while waiting behind the three point line.
- 1:31He had already scored forty three points in the game,
- 1:34but Jordan wasn't done. Utah four Brian Russell moved into
- 1:39slow Jordan with one hard dribbled to the right. Jordan
- 1:42burst passed the Utah defender. Then Jordan stopped and quickly
- 1:46dribbled the ball back to his left hand. The move
- 1:49left Russell on the floor. From the top of the key,
- 1:52Jordan calmly rose into the air for a jump shot.
- 1:55He held his shooting arm in the air until the
- 1:58ball hit nothing but net. The stunned Utah fans went silent.
- 2:03The Jazz had one last chance to force a game
- 2:06seven point guard John Stockton's last second heave clanked off
- 2:11the rim. The Bulls were NBA champions for the third
- 2:14straight year, and for the sixth time. Jordan was named
- 2:17Finals Most Valuable Player MVP. Chapter two. Carolina Kid Michael
- 2:25Jordan was born on February seventeenth, nineteen sixty three, in Brooklyn,
- 2:30New York. However, his family moved to North Carolina a
- 2:33few years later. There, Michael attended Laney High School in
- 2:37Wilmington that was where he first played basketball. Michael wasn't
- 2:41a superstar right away. As a sophomore, he stood five
- 2:44foot ten and couldn't dunk. The varsity coach didn't think
- 2:48he was ready. Being cut from the team stunned Michael,
- 2:52but he used it as a motivation to work hard
- 2:55and get better. Michael made the varsity team the next year.
- 2:59By then end of his high school career, many top
- 3:02college teams wanted him. Michael decided to stay in his
- 3:05home state and play for the University of North Carolina.
- 3:09Coach Jean Smith had built a strong program behind Buddings
- 3:13star James Worthy. The Tar Hills had reached the nineteen
- 3:16eighty one national Championship game. When Jordan arrived in nineteen
- 3:20eighty one and eighty two, he fit in right away.
- 3:23The freshman averaged thirteen point five points per game while
- 3:27helping the Tar Hills reach the National championship game again.
- 3:31They faced a strong Georgetown University team. The Hoyas feature
- 3:36a superstar freshman of their own, center Patrick Ewing. With
- 3:40fifty three seconds left, the Hoyas led sixty two to
- 3:44sixty one. North Carolina needed a basket to stay alive.
- 3:48The Tar Hills looked to their star freshmen, and Jordan
- 3:51delivered his difficult shot from the left wing put North
- 3:55Carolina up sixty three to sixty two with sixteen seconds left.
- 4:00It proved to be the championship winning shot. Jordan spent
- 4:05two more years with the Tar Hills. As a junior,
- 4:08he was named the National Player of the Year that summer.
- 4:10The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with a third overall pick
- 4:14in the nineteen eighty four NBA draft. With his athletic
- 4:19frame and superb quickness, Jordan took the league by storm.
- 4:24In the nineteen eighty four eighty five season, Jordan averaged
- 4:27twenty eight point two points per game and was the
- 4:30NBA Rookie of the Year. By his third season, in
- 4:33nineteen eighty six eighty seven, he averaged a league high
- 4:36of thirty seven point one points per game. That was
- 4:39one of the highest scoring averages in the season in
- 4:42NBA history. However, Chicago was still finding its footing. The
- 4:47Boston Celtics swept the Bulls in the first round of
- 4:51the playoffs for the second straight year. Chapter three Air Jordan.
- 4:56By nineteen eighty seven to eighty eight, Michael Jordan had
- 4:59a established himself as one of the NBA's most dangerous players.
- 5:03He won the second of seven consecutive scoring titles that season.
- 5:08As a lockdown defender, he led the league with three
- 5:11point two steals per game, plus no player averaged more
- 5:15minutes per game. It all added up to help Jordan
- 5:18ernest first NBA MVP award, but he still needed to
- 5:23prove it he could lead a playoff push after beating
- 5:27them in the first round the previous year. The Bulls
- 5:30faced the Cleveland Cavaliers to open the nineteen eighty nine postseason.
- 5:35Trailing one hundred to ninety nine, laid in a winner
- 5:38take all Game five, Jordan took control with three seconds left.
- 5:43He received an inbound pass and quickly pulled up for
- 5:46a shot. The ball left Jordan's hands just before the
- 5:49final buzzer sounded. It rattled around the rim before sinking
- 5:53through the net. Jordan leaped into the air, pumping his
- 5:57fist in celebration as the Bulls advanced. This moment became
- 6:01known as the Shot. Eventually, the Bulls went up against
- 6:05the bruising Detroit Pistons in the conference finals. Detroit had
- 6:11knocked them out of the playoffs in five games. The
- 6:13year before, Detroit used a physical defensive style to slow
- 6:18Jordan's scoring, and it worked. The Pistons won in six games.
- 6:22The Pistons then eliminated Chicago in the nineteen ninety Conference
- 6:26Finals as well. During that nineteen ninety offseason, Jordan eden
- 6:31Mussel He practiced his scoring in the post.
- 6:34Speaker 2: All the work paid off.
- 6:36Speaker 1: The Bulls once again met the Pistons in the nineteen
- 6:40ninety one Conference Finals. This time, Jordan averaged twenty nine
- 6:44point eight points as the Bulls swept the series. The
- 6:48Bulls met the Los Angeles Lakers in the nineteen ninety
- 6:51one NBA Finals. Lakers point guard Magic Johnson had been
- 6:56in the league's Biggest Star in the nineteen eighties. Now
- 7:00Jordan had a chance to take the throne. He did
- 7:03just that, averaging more than thirty one points and eleven
- 7:06assists per game as the Bulls won in five games.
- 7:10Jordan was only getting started. He led the Bulls to
- 7:13victory in the nineteen ninety two and nineteen ninety three
- 7:17NBA Finals as well. Each time, Jordan was named Finals MVP.
- 7:23In ninety ninety one and ninety one ninety two, he
- 7:27was named NBA MVP as well. The Bulls became the
- 7:31first team to win three straight NBA championships since nineteen
- 7:36sixty six. Perhaps no athlete in the world was as
- 7:40famous as Michael Jordan Jordan brand. Michael Jordan had unmatched
- 7:46skills on the court, it turned out he had one
- 7:49of a kind markability off the court too. In nineteen
- 7:52eighty five, Nike released shoes specifically for Jordan, called the
- 7:57Air Jordan One. Millions of pairs were sold in the
- 8:00shoes first year. By nineteen eighty six eighty seven, Nike
- 8:05began to release signature Jordan's shoes each season. They became
- 8:09popular enough for Jordan to branch off with his own
- 8:12Brain in nineteen ninety seven. The popularity of Jordan shoes
- 8:16has also inspired modern NBA athletes. Many stars have their
- 8:20own signature shoes. Jordan was a big name for more
- 8:24than just shoes, though. In nineteen ninety one, Gatorades signed
- 8:28to deal with Jordan to make him the sports drink's
- 8:30first sponsored athlete. After he started a commercial with the
- 8:34tagline b Like Mike, the drink's popularity skyrocket around the world.
- 8:40Throughout his career, Jordan has also sponsored deals with Coca Cola, Wheedy's, McDonald's,
- 8:46and other major brands. Chapter four. The goat tragedy struck
- 8:52Michael Jordan. In July nineteen ninety three, his father, James,
- 8:56was killed in North Carolina. The prime of his career,
- 8:59Jordan questioned and if he still wanted to play basketball.
- 9:02On October sixth, nineteen ninety three, he shocked the sports
- 9:06world when he retired from the NBA at age thirty.
- 9:10Jordan said he needed a new challenge in his life.
- 9:13He had enjoyed playing baseball as a kid. The Chicago
- 9:16White Sox offered him opportunity to try the sport professionally.
- 9:21Jordan played the minor leagues in nineteen ninety four. However,
- 9:24he struggled on the baseball diamond. On March nineteenth, nineteen
- 9:28ninety five, Jordan returned to the NBA. It took time
- 9:32for Jordan to be back at full strength. By nineteen
- 9:36ninety five ninety six, it was like he never left.
- 9:39At age thirty two, Jordan won his eighth NBA scoring
- 9:43title and fourth MVP Award. Along with longtime sidekick Scottie Pippen,
- 9:49Jordan led the Bulls to an NBA record seventy two
- 9:52regular season wins after losing once in the opening three
- 9:56rounds of the playoffs, the Bulls faced the Seattlesonics in
- 10:01the finals. Like clockwork, Jordan won another Finals MVP award.
- 10:06The Bulls quenched the championship on Father's Day. Afterward, an
- 10:10emotional Jordan wept on the floor with the game ball
- 10:13in his hands. The Bulls made it back to the
- 10:16finals in nineteen ninety seven. They faced the Utah Jazz.
- 10:20With the series tie, Jordan began feeling ill ahead of
- 10:23Game five in Utah. He battled through the flu like
- 10:27symptoms and scored a game high of thirty eight points
- 10:30that included a three pointer to give the Bulls the
- 10:33lead with twenty five seconds left. After winning the flu game,
- 10:37the Bulls won Game six to secure Jordan's fifth championship.
- 10:41Then Jordan and the Bulls defeated the Jazz again in
- 10:44nineteen ninety eight to clinch another three peat. In all
- 10:48six wins, Jordan was named Finals MVP. Jordan dominated the
- 10:53NBA like no player had before him. After the nineteen
- 10:56ninety eight finals, he retired again, and once again he
- 11:00came back. He played two seasons with the Washington Wizards,
- 11:04earning All Star selections twelve times. Finally, he retired for
- 11:09the last time in two thousand and three. Jordan remained
- 11:12a global icon. People still lined up to buy Jordan
- 11:16brandshoes and other products he endorsed. In twenty ten, he
- 11:20bought the Charlotte Bobcats now the Hornets. The purchase made
- 11:24Jordan the first NBA majority owner who.
- 11:27Speaker 2: Used to play in the league.
- 11:28Speaker 1: Even after his career, Jordan was still making history. Our
- 11:34next book is called Muhammad Ali, A Champion Is Born.
- 11:39It was published by Katherine Tigan Books, an imprint of
- 11:42HarperCollins Publishers, and it has a copyright year of twenty seventeen.
- 11:50The author of our book is Jean Beretta. February twenty fifth,
- 11:55nineteen sixty four, Miami Beach, Florida, pal Cassius Clay bounces
- 12:00around the ring on the balls of his feet, throwing
- 12:03jabs and dodging uppercuts from champion Sonny Liston. Clay is
- 12:08the clear underdog, but after six and tense rounds, he
- 12:12surprises everyone and wins the World Heavy eight champ Heavyweight Championship.
- 12:18Speaker 2: I Shook up the world.
- 12:21Speaker 1: May twenty fifth, nineteen sixty five, Lewiston, Maine, Poal Pal.
- 12:26The two boxers meet for a rematch. Only Clay has
- 12:29a new name, the name of a champion, Muhammad Ali.
- 12:33It means worthy of praise, most high. Ali wins again.
- 12:37I Am the Greatest. October thirtieth, nineteen seventy four. The
- 12:42Rumbo in the Jungle in Kushwasha, Zire Heavyweight champion George
- 12:48Foreman pounds and Ali for seven rounds. Ali stays on
- 12:52his feet and waits for Foreman to get tired. He
- 12:55then delivers a stunning knockout combination to win the World
- 12:59Heavyweight Champchampionship a second time. Float like a butterfly, steamed
- 13:04like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes
- 13:07can't see. September fifteenth, nineteen seventy eight, New Orleans, Louisiana,
- 13:14Pow Pow Pal at age thirty six, Near the end
- 13:17of his career, Allie wins a rematch against champion Leon
- 13:21Spinks to become the first boxer to win the World
- 13:24heavyweight championship three times. And he owed it all to
- 13:29a stolen bicycle. Winter nineteen fifty four, home of twelve
- 13:34year old Cassius clay in Louisville, Kentucky. Hurry up before
- 13:38they eat all the popcorn, Cassius yelled as he raced
- 13:41to the Louisville Home Show on his brain new bike
- 13:44and the hot dogs too. Wait up, answered his best friend, Johnny.
- 13:48Don't worry, I'll save you the bun, Cash has joked.
- 13:52A heavy rain soaked the streets, but nothing slowed them down.
- 13:57Cash has felt cool on his bike, new chrome shine
- 14:00brighter when it was wet. He rode up to the
- 14:03home Show and hit his brakes hard. The front tire
- 14:07kicked up a wave of water. He looked back at Johnny,
- 14:11did you really think you could beat me? Not only
- 14:13can I ride fast, but I look good doing it.
- 14:16They hopped off their bikes and ran inside. The Louisville
- 14:21Home Show was an annual bazaar. It was held for
- 14:24all the black merchants who were not allowed to tend
- 14:28or sell their products at the white bazaars. Segregation was
- 14:32as real as the rain in Louisville, and Cassius saw
- 14:35how his people suffered for it. He spoke proudly of them.
- 14:38I know why they won't let us in the white bazaars,
- 14:41Because they're afraid will show them up. He pointed to
- 14:45every booth and said, one day I'm going to get
- 14:47one of those, and one of those and one of those.
- 14:50But right now I have room for one more free
- 14:53hot dog before Oh no, dinner.
- 14:56Speaker 2: We're late. We got to get home.
- 14:58Speaker 1: They stepped outside. Cassius froze in his tracks. No, he shouted,
- 15:03as he looked in every direction.
- 15:06Speaker 2: My bike.
- 15:06Speaker 1: Where's my bike? Cassius ran up the street. Did you
- 15:10see a red bike? Did you see anyone with my
- 15:12new red bike? His eyes welled up with tears. I
- 15:16need a policeman. Finally, an older woman spoke up. Go
- 15:20back in the building and go down to the basement.
- 15:22Ask for Officer Joe Martin. He found Officer Martin and
- 15:28explained every last detail. It was red and white with
- 15:31white wall, tires and chrome. I just got it for
- 15:34Christmas and there wasn't a mark on it. His fists
- 15:37were clinched tight like hammers. He raised his voice, and
- 15:41when I find whoever took my bike, I'm gonna whop them.
- 15:45Cassius was small and thin. Officer Martin looked him over
- 15:48and offered some advice. Listen, son, before you wop somebody,
- 15:53you better learn to fight. That was not what Cassius
- 15:56expected to hear, especially from a police office. Sir took
- 16:01a moment for him to catch his breath and look around.
- 16:04Then all made sense. For the very first time, Cassius
- 16:07Clay was standing inside a boxing gym. The energy in
- 16:11the room made his heart race. He loved the sound
- 16:14of boxing gloves mocking the speed bag and the rhythm
- 16:17of the jump rope slapping the floor. He loved the
- 16:20shuffling feet of the shadow boxers and the smell of
- 16:23the rubbing alcohol in the air. Dean Dean A bell
- 16:28rang and two young guys started bobbing and weaving in
- 16:31the ring.
- 16:32Speaker 2: Wow, thought cashus.
- 16:34Speaker 1: Photos of old boxing champions stirred out at Cash's as
- 16:38if to say, let's go a few rounds. We're here
- 16:41every weeknight if you want to join us, Martin said.
- 16:46On the way home, Johnny kept repeating, You're gonna get
- 16:50it when you get home, boy, You're gonna get it,
- 16:52And he did. His dad pitched a fit so loud
- 16:55it echoed off the neighbor's house. Cash has heard every word,
- 16:59but his was really on the boxing gym. A few
- 17:02days later, he was shocked to see the same gym
- 17:05on a local TV show called Tomorrow's Champions.
- 17:09Speaker 2: Look.
- 17:09Speaker 1: He said to his mother, that's the gym. That's Officer Martin,
- 17:13he trains the boys. Cash Has got so excited he
- 17:17threw on his jacket and dashed out the door. I
- 17:20want to be a boxer. As he leaped across the
- 17:23old porch, Cash Has called out to his mom, I'm
- 17:27gonna win big and buy you a brand new porch
- 17:29at the home show. No wait, I'm gonna buy you
- 17:31a brand new home at the home show. His brother
- 17:34Rudy went racing after him.
- 17:36Speaker 2: Wait for me.
- 17:38Speaker 1: From that point on, Cash just thought off. Cash has
- 17:42thought about was boxing. He told all the kids to school,
- 17:45you're looking at the next world champion. They just laughed
- 17:48at him and joked who. Somebody must have punched him
- 17:52too hard. He thinks he's Sugar Ray Robinson. Wait, Cashus,
- 17:57did you say champ or chump? The Cassious Imagine his
- 18:03name being broadcast from the intercom Ladies and Gentlemen, Cassius
- 18:07Clay Heavyweight Champion.
- 18:09Speaker 2: Of the World.
- 18:10Speaker 1: He drew pictures of boxing robes with the words Cassius
- 18:14Clay Heavyweight champing of the world on the back. He
- 18:17knew that one day he would wear that robe. Cassius
- 18:21worked hard with Officer Martin every day after school. He
- 18:25hit the speedbag, jump rope, and practice shadow boxing. Watch this,
- 18:31I can move faster than mown shadow. Cassius has his
- 18:34own style of training at home. On most mornings, his
- 18:38workout started before sunrise. He often ran alongside the school
- 18:42bus to build up his endurance. Sometimes Rudy would throw
- 18:46stones at Cassius to test his reflexes. Come on, Rudy,
- 18:50I'm not the invisible man. Why can't you hit me?
- 18:55Every night, after Martin's Jim closed up, Cashus headed to
- 19:00a second trainer named fred Stoner. Cassius Toad, Rudy fred
- 19:04Stoner's boys or win in all the fights in Louisville.
- 19:08With Stoner, he improved his jabs, uppercuts, and hooks. He
- 19:12learned the cross, the bolo, the clinch, bobbing, weaving, and
- 19:17the pea kaboo. Training was hard, but Cassius said to himself,
- 19:22don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your
- 19:25life as a champion. Every year he improved. First he
- 19:28showed them in Kentucky, then He showed the world by
- 19:31winning a gold medal at the nineteen sixty Olympics in Rome.
- 19:35Speaker 2: That was only the beginning.
- 19:37Speaker 1: During his legendary boxing career, he won fifty six out
- 19:41of sixty one professional fights. Many believed his crew outside
- 19:47the ring was even more impressive. He became known as
- 19:50the People's Champion. He fought for people who retreat unfairly
- 19:54because of the color of their skin or their religious beliefs.
- 19:58He wanted to be a positive row model for them.
- 20:01I had to prove you could be a new kind
- 20:03of black man. I had showed the world. His words
- 20:07of peace, pride, and human decency inspired people from all
- 20:11over the world. They called him Champ and it felt great.
- 20:14Felt as great as racing down a Louville street on
- 20:17a brand new red and white bicycle with white wall
- 20:20tires and shiny chrome trim. Our next book is titled
- 20:25Henry Aaron's Stream and it was published by Candlewick Press.
- 20:29It has a copyright year of twenty ten and the
- 20:33author of the book is Matt Tavaris. Henry Aaron had
- 20:38a dream. He wanted to be a big league baseball player.
- 20:41He didn't have a bat, so he'd swing a broom
- 20:43handle or stick or whatever he could find. Henry didn't
- 20:47have a baseball either, so he hit bottle caps, or
- 20:51tie few old rags together, or crump up a ten can.
- 20:55Henry liked to play in his yard and imagine himself
- 20:58in the big leagues. Knew he shouldn't get his hopes up.
- 21:02Ain't no color ball players, he told Henry. Still, Henry
- 21:06held on to his stream. In the nineteen forties, in Mobile, Alabama,
- 21:11it was against the law for black kids and white
- 21:14kids to play baseball together. There were baseball diamonds all
- 21:18over the city, but they all had signs that said
- 21:21whites only. When Henry was twelve, the city of Mobile
- 21:24opened Carver Park, the only baseball field in the host city,
- 21:28with a sign that said colored only. That's where Henry
- 21:32spent his days. He'd raced to the park after school
- 21:35and play ball with his friends until it was too
- 21:38dark to see.
- 21:40Speaker 2: Henry loved playing on a real.
- 21:41Speaker 1: Baseball field, with real bats and real baseballs. He was
- 21:46small and skinny, and he held the bat the wrong way.
- 21:50He batted right handed with his left hand on top.
- 21:53But he practiced and practiced until he could hit the
- 21:56ball harder than any of the other kids at park.
- 22:01On April fifteenth, nineteen forty seven, when Henry was thirteen,
- 22:06Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- 22:10Finally there was a black ball player in the big leagues.
- 22:14Speaker 2: Henry's whole world changed.
- 22:15Speaker 1: He kept playing ball at Carver Park and dreaming of
- 22:18making it to the majors. Only now, thanks to Jackie Robinson,
- 22:23he knew his dream could come true. Henry started listening
- 22:27to every Dodger game on the radio and reading every
- 22:30article he could find about Jackie Robinson. Henry learned what
- 22:34Jackie was going through. Everywhere Jackie played, white fans called
- 22:39him nigger. Some even sent him letters threatened to kill
- 22:44him if he kept playing. Opposing players spiked him with
- 22:47their cleats. Even some of his own teammates refused to
- 22:51play ball with the black man. And through it all,
- 22:53Jackie persevered. He played hard every day and showed the
- 22:57world that he was just as good as anyone. After
- 23:02spring training in nineteen forty eight, Jackie Robinson and the
- 23:06Dodgers came to Mobile to play an exposition game in
- 23:10Heartwell Field. Henry's father took him to the game there,
- 23:15he was number forty two Jackie Robinson. Henry was mesmerized.
- 23:21He watched his heroes every every move. Sitting in the
- 23:25colored section way out in right field. Henry told his
- 23:28father that someday soon he'd be out there playing ball
- 23:32with Jackie. Three years later, in nineteen fifty one, the
- 23:36manager of the Mobile Black Bears, a local semi pro team,
- 23:40saw Henry playing at Carver Park and ask him to
- 23:43join the team. Henry was still in high school and
- 23:46his mother didn't want him traveling around with the baseball team,
- 23:49so when he played home games and only on Sundays,
- 23:53he caught paid ten dollars after every game, and he
- 23:56even got his own uniform. That same year, the Rodgers
- 24:00held a tryout camp for black ball players in Mobile.
- 24:04Speaker 2: Kids from all over.
- 24:06Speaker 1: The city came to try out, all hoping to become
- 24:08the next Jackie Robinson. When it was Henry's turn to bat,
- 24:12he took his best swings, but the Dodger scouts were
- 24:15not impressed. All they saw was a skinny kid who
- 24:19held his bat the wrong way. They told him he
- 24:21was too small, and Henry went back home. Still, Henry
- 24:26didn't give up on his stream in nineteen fifty two,
- 24:29after he finished high school, he started playing shortstop for
- 24:32the Indianapolis Clowns in the negro Leagues. Most of the
- 24:36ballplayers in the majors, like Larry Doby, Monty Irving, and
- 24:41Jackie Robinson, had been discovered while playing in the negro Leagues.
- 24:45Henry thought this might be his best chance. Watching him play,
- 24:49Henry's teammates knew he wouldn't be in the negro Leagues
- 24:53for long. He was so talented and so young. Just
- 24:56what big league teams were looking for. His teammates knew
- 25:00this all too well. They were older. Some of them
- 25:04had been playing in the negro Leagues for ten or
- 25:06fifteen years. They had watched so many of their younger
- 25:09teammates lee for the majors and become stars while they
- 25:14stayed behind. They slept on the buses every night, arriving
- 25:18in a new city each morning, almost never stopping to
- 25:22eat at a restaurant because so few restaurants would serve them.
- 25:25Back when they were Henry's age, they used to dream
- 25:28of making it to the major leagues, but by the
- 25:30time Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers was already too
- 25:34late for them. Big league teams just weren't looking for
- 25:37thirty five year old rookies from the negro leagues. One
- 25:40raining day in Buffalo, after the first game of a doubleheader,
- 25:44a scout for the Braves approached Henry and asked if
- 25:47he would try batting with his right hand on top
- 25:50and his next at bat, Henry switched his hands and
- 25:52hit a home run over the right field since a
- 25:56few days later the Braves, a real big league team,
- 25:59offered him a minor league contract. Henry practice cardboard suitcase,
- 26:04said goodbye to his teammates and boarded a northbound train.
- 26:09We will have to finish this story next time, so
- 26:12this concludes our story hour for today. Please join us
- 26:16next time as we will read more stories, fables and
- 26:19fairy tales. Thank you for listening, and please stay tuned
- 26:22for the Lexton Herald Leader on RADIOI