[Radix]

"Jackie Robinson is posthumously receiving the congressional gold medal," said Red Sox executive vice president/public affairs Charles Steinberg. "He's receiving it in part because of our initiative that we started Jan. 31, 2003, to honor [Robinson] on his birthday at Fenway Park each year."

I am pretty certain that the Red Sox were the very last MLB team to actually have a black player on their roster. Years ago I recall reading articles which pretty much made it evident that Tom Yawkey (owner for decades) had an attitude toward black Americans.

Possibly another reason for the 86 years drought some might say.

[ReagansRaiders]

I'm just ticked that as the founder of "Red Sox Fans for Truth" that I didn't get an invite to the White House today. All I got to do was go to the White House a week and a half ago for a lousy bill signing ceremony for the Class Action reform bill for my day job....

[ssaftler]

I am pretty certain that the Red Sox were the very last MLB team to actually have a black player on their roster

Yup, they certainly were the last, ol' Pumpsie Green, still alive and living in the Bay Area of SF. They had a couple interesting articles on him in the local paper last year during the WS.

It may be even more ironic than people think, as the Sox, while the last team to EMPLOY a black player, were one of the first, if not the first, to TRY OUT a black player. Three actually. Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and I forget the third (a pitcher who ended up with the Giants, I think).

Of course, Yawkey or one of his cronies ignored them with a dismissive "get those n------s off my field" comment. HBO talked about the incident in their "Curse of the Bambino" special a year or two ago.