CAIRO — Preparations are underway for a once-in-a-lifetime event Friday afternoon at the Jackie Robinson Boys & Girls Club. 

And it’s a moment not lost on the Club, its leaders or its members. 

The Atlanta Braves are bringing the World Series trophy, which the Braves won last November by defeating the Houston Astros in six games. to the club. The Braves are taking the trophy on a tour of the state. 

But only one stop is named after the man who broke baseball’s color barrier — and it’s coming 75 years to the day that it happened. 

“We’re still trying to soak in the significance of what’s about to happen,” said Stephen Francis, director of the Jackie Robinson Boys and Girls Club. “And it’s all happening on Jackie Robinson Day. We know the significance.”

The club’s namesake was born near Cairo and on April 15, 1947, he suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first Black player in modern baseball. 

Since 2004, Major League Baseball has observed every April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day. Coaches and players throughout the majors wear the number 42 instead of their own usual jersey number. 

Major League Baseball has retired the number 42 from use throughout all 30 franchises in 1997, allowing those players who had the number for their jersey to wear it as long as they were active. The last player to wear 42 on a regular basis was New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera. He retired in 2013, and no other player has worn the number since as their own. 

The Braves organization and the Jackie Robinson Boys and Girls Club have formed a bond over the last few years. 

In 2019, the Braves, through the Braves Foundation, donated a check for $11,761 to the club, proceeds from the Braves’ 50/50 raffles on April 13-14. 

Members of the Jackie Robinson Boys and Girls Club were guests of the Braves for the April 13, 2019 game against the New York Mets. 

The kids, all in shirts bearing number 42, also had a big time in the Truist Park Kids Zone, going climbing on the rock wall,  getting on the zipline, and taking their cuts in the batting cage, Francis said. 

“They rolled out the red carpet for us,” he said.

On Friday, the Braves and Chevrolet will donate a 2022 Express 3500 15-seat passenger van to the Jackie Robinson Boys & Girls Club. 

“We’re very appreciative of the Braves considering us as a little brother, established through the foundation of Jackie Robinson being born here and what he’s done for baseball,” Francis said. 

“Once the Braves saw our mission, what we’re trying to achieve with the kids, they saw we needed some help, some assistance, a bigger shoulder to lean on.” 

The Braves, who are on a West Coast road swing this weekend, will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day at Truist Park on April 22 as the team takes on the Miami Marlins. The Braves will host Jackie Robinson Boys & Girls Club members for pregame food and fun before they enjoy the game from their lower-level seats.

Francis said the club lets the members know there is only one Boys & Girls Club in the world bearing Jackie Robinson’s name, and that means something.

“With that comes a great responsibility,” he said. “You are representing something a lot bigger than yourself. He impacted the entire world. The kids understand. They are reaping the benefits of doing what they are supposed to do.” 

The World Series trophy is making approximately 150 stops throughout the Southeast as the Braves celebrate the franchise’s first Series title in 27 years. 

“It took a long time to do it,” Francis said of the Braves winning the World Series, which last took place in 1995. 

Francis said an event such as Friday’s, in conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day, “probably is not going to come along for another 100 years.”

With that in mind, the city and the community are sprucing up, and everyone is putting on their Sunday best for Friday, Francis pointed out. 

“The community is excited,” he said. “People are preparing to make history. They want to say, ‘I was there when the World Series trophy came to Cairo. I was there.’ They know that history is taking place. The city, the community is ready. They are really proud.”