42 Jackie Robinson Event

Avon On Tour

42 The True Story of an American Legend

Friday April 24th, 2026

Ferguson Library (1 Public Library Plaza, Stamford, CT).

Join us after the film for a Q&A with three historians and authors who have published books about Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson, and the integration of baseball: Peter Eisendstadt, Leo Lowenfish, and Keith Crook.

Guy Fortt, former President of the Stamford NAACP, will give opening remarks before the film.

Synopsis: In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first Black man to play in Major League Baseball, facing unabashed racism from the public, the press, and other players. 

Peter Eisenstadt is a professional historian, and has written or edited over twenty books. They include The Encyclopedia of New York State, Rochdale Village: Robert Moses, 6,000 Families, and New York City’s Great Experiment in Integrated Housing, and Against the Hounds of Hell: A Life of Howard Thurman, the first comprehensive biography of the great African American religious thinker and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. His latest book, Integration at Second Base: Jackie Robinson and the Quest for Black Citizenship has just been published by the University of Virginia Press.  He lives in Philadelphia.   

Lee Lowenfish earned a PhD in American History from the University of Wisconsin in 1968,  A native of New York City and a 1963 Columbia College graduate, he has written several books about baseball including "The Imperfect Diamond: A History of Baseball's Labor Wars" and the award-winning biography "Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman." In a review in the Los Angeles Times, David Ulin wrote, "Lowenfish's take is detailed and nuanced. . . . He never sugarcoats or presents Rickey in anything other than a three-dimensional light."

Keith Crook’s new book, Opening the Door for Jackie, reframes Jackie Robinson’s historic signing in 1945 as a victory for the activists, journalists, trade unions, politicians, and ordinary citizens who fought discrimination on and off the field during World War II. Drawing on newly uncovered sources, Crook demonstrates that there was a civil rights movement long before Dr. King “had a dream,” and integrating the major leagues was one of its stated goals. Before becoming a historian, Crook’s background was in advertising and television. His credits include MTV Rock n’ Jock Baseball and MTV Rock n’ Jock Basketball shows. He is a resident of Stamford, Connecticut.

Avon on Tour is presented by The First Bank of Greenwich and sponsored by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, The John C. Griswold Family Foundation, Stamford Arts & Culture Commission, and Wireless Zone Gives. Additional support is provided by The Bruce Museum, Darien Library, Ferguson Library, and Stamford Town Center.