This actually should have been a story a few weeks ago, while I was talking about some minor league parks. On April 7th, MLB announced the winners for the 2009 Beacon Awards.  I found this  great piece of video of Frank Robinson announcing the awards, and, perhaps because he said he may also be known as an Oriole, but that he is truly a Red, I felt the need to share it.

The Beacon of Hope is given to an individual who nurtures America’s future through support of youth and in 2009 will be awarded to comedy and television star Bill Cosby. His sitcom, “The Cosby Show,” was the first to portray an African-American family as upper middle class, and served as a revival for the modern-day situation comedy. Cosby has continually discussed the importance of education and personal responsibility as a means to restoring hope and empowerment in the community.

The Beacon of Life is given to an individual who embodies the soul of the civil rights movement through his life’s pursuits and in 2009 will be awarded to baseball hero Hank Aaron. The Hall of Famer is one of, if not the most prolific hitters in the history of baseball. While his 755 career home runs set a standard for modern batting records, Aaron’s integrity on and off the field led MLB to honor him with the MLB Beacon of Life. One of the last Major Leaguers to use the Negro Leagues as his launching pad, Aaron encountered incredible adversity and racism as he played through his 23-year Major League career. His Chasing the Dream Foundation, established by Aaron and his wife, Billye, in 1994, has given financial support and mentoring to hundreds of youth throughout the country and on military bases around the world to enable them to pursue their talents in music, dance, art, science, literature and athletics.

The Beacon of Change is given to an individual who furthers the ideals of the movement through his/her creative works and in 2009 will be awarded to boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Ten-time boxing heavyweight champion Ali transcended the sport that initially brought him into our consciousness, and his refusal to accept the status quo in society inspired MLB to honor him with the MLB Beacon of Change. Ali has been a committed humanitarian, spending more than four decades traveling throughout the world on goodwill missions, defending the rights of many who have been persecuted, neglected and otherwise wronged.

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