After 69 years, the city of Philadelphia is finally apologizing to former Dodgers outfielder Jackie Robinson for its racist treatment of MLB's first black player.
The Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution Thursday naming April 15 as a day to honor Robinson and to apologize for his mistreatment when the Dodgers visited the City of Brotherly Love.
MORE: 42 images of Jackie Robinson from the SN archives
When Robinson broke baseball's color barrier on April 15, 1947, he was met with plenty of racist disdain. And it wasn't all in the South.
When playing the Phillies a week later in Brooklyn, many Philadelphia players taunted Robinson with racial slurs. Nobody's actions were more heinous than Phillies manager Ben Chapman, who initially threatened to boycott the series. He changed his mind after realizing not playing the games would result in a forfeit.
The Dodgers traveled to Philadelphia the next month but were refused entry at the Ben Franklin Hotel because of Robinson. They moved to the Warwick Hotel, where they were welcomed.
It would have been nice for the city to apologize to Robinson before he died in 1972. The city will instead publicly apologize to Robinson's widow, Rachel.
MLB honors Robinson annually on April 15 as players from each team wear his No. 42, which was universally retired in 1997.