by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s Department of Transportation swung and missed with a road sign for the Jackie Robinson Parkway that spelled the baseball Hall of Famer’s first name as “Jakie.”
The sign spotted Sunday in Queens featured a picture of Robinson, Major League Baseball’s first African American player in the modern era, over the words “Jakie Robinson Parkway.”
Department of Transportation spokesperson Scott Gastel said the botched sign was replaced Monday.
Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He is celebrated as a civil rights trailblazer and as a superstar athlete who made the All-Star Game six times and batted .313 over his 10-year MLB career.
The road formerly know as the Interboro Parkway was renamed for Robinson in 1997, the 50th anniversary of his groundbreaking rookie season.
This article was originally printed by the New York Amsterdam News.
