Comments on: Roy Campanella (1921-1993), Negro League Superstar Chosen to Move to Major Leagues

By: Kate Kelly

Kate Kelly — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 15:52:20 +0000

In reply to JON KATZ.

Jon, thanks for posting. That’s a good reminder for us all. Roy Campanella seemed the sort of man who would definitely have accommodated the request if he could.
I’m currently reading Tammy Duckworth’s book, Every Day is a Gift. The book is about so much but among the side notes is that the Senate has only two doors that can accommodate a wheelchair user. We do need to update—our thinking and our environment.

By: JON KATZ

JON KATZ — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 00:15:35 +0000

I met Mr. Campanella briefly at an awards broadcast in 1965, on the site of the New York World’s Fair. He was politely apologetic that he could not autograph a teenager’s program. I was that very embarrassed teen. In my defense, I hadn’t realized the extent of his injury–people confined to wheelchairs can often use their arms–but it was a humbling experience that I recall vividly more than a half-century later.