Sports In America with David Greene Today’s Echoes of Jackie Robinson’s America
Mar 26, 2026
Tim Lambert, Pittsburgh sportswriter who covers local teams and fan culture, opens with hopeful baseball season talk. Howard Bryant, award-winning sports journalist and historian of race and sports, explores Jackie Robinson, Paul Robeson, and HUAC. They discuss baseball’s seasonal optimism, the 1949 HUAC hearing’s echoes in today’s loyalty debates, and the long arc of athlete activism.
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Roberto Clemente's Final Mission And Legacy
- Roberto Clemente died delivering earthquake relief after insisting on personally overseeing unsafe cargo and a risky flight.
- Tim Lambert recalled Clemente's 3,000th hit in his final at-bat and his legendary arm, linking the number 21 to Pittsburgh's civic memory.
McCutcheon's Extra Innings Home Run Memory
- David Greene and Tim Lambert recalled Andrew McCutcheon's 2015 extra-innings home run at PNC Park as a transcendent moment that united fans.
- Greene described embracing strangers and calling it one of his most storied Pittsburgh fan memories.
Black Reporters Carry A Community Responsibility
- Black players historically saw few Black journalists, creating pressure on Black reporters to 'get it right' as representatives of their community.
- Howard Bryant recalled Willie McGee urging him to honor that lineage and responsibility in coverage.
