Jackie Robinson’s name misspelled as ‘Jakie’ on New York City road sign
The New York City Department of Transportation misspelled Jackie Robinson's name on a road sign in Queens. The sign was replaced on Monday.
New York City’s Department of Transportation made an embarrassing mistake when it misspelled Jackie Robinson’s name on a road sign.
The road sign for Jackie Robinson Parkway was spelled "Jakie Robinson Parkway" under a picture of the legendary baseball player, according to a report by the New York Post.
Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Scott Gastel, a Department of Transportation spokesperson, said the sign was replaced on Monday.
"This spelling mistake is absurd," City Councilman Robert Holden said of the road-sign typo on Sunday. "You don’t have a few eyes looking at these signs? DOT is a mess."
The parkway in Queens was known as the Interboro Parkway until 1997 when it was renamed for Robinson, 50 years after his rookie season.
Robinson was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1947, batting .297 with 12 home runs and 29 stolen bases.
In 1949, Robinson was named the NL’s MVP after batting .342.
In his 10-year MLB career, Robinson had a .313 average and was named an All-Star six times.
In 1997, MLB commissioner Bud Selig permanently retired the No. 42 in honor of Robinson, with Mariano Rivera being the last player to don the number.