The Westport Library, the Westport Center for Senior Activities, and Meryl Moss Media Group are proud to announce that Tony Sanches, Steve Karp, Jim Alkon, William Field, Martin Erdheim, and Holly Goss Betts have been named the winners of the inaugural Jackie Robinson Essay Contest.
The essay contest, open to area residents age 60 and over and organized by the Library’s Common Ground Initiative, asked its submitters to answer the following question in 800 words or less: “Jackie Robinson stands as an icon of equality and civil rights. What does that say about the power of his legacy, of the place of sports in our culture, and about our modern-day society?”
Sanches took first place in the contest with his essay “Life Lessons,” earning a Jackie Robinson Baseball Hall of Fame 1962 Induction limited edition, full size 34-inch career stat bat.
Karp was this year’s runner-up with his essay, “42 and Me,” with Alkon taking third place for his submission, “His Courage Taught Baseball to be Color Blind.” Karp’s second-place prize was a Highland Mint Jackie Robinson Hall of Fame plaque, with Alkon receiving a Highland Mint silver photo coin.
The additional award-winning essays for 2025 were Field’s “The Meritocracy of the Locker Room: Jackie Robinson’s Halo Looms Large,” Erdheim’s “Jackie Was America’s Dream,” and Goss Betts’ “Jackie Robinson Moved Boulders.”
“The essays submitted for our inaugural contest were a joy to read,” said Bill Harmer, Westport Library executive director. “They were thoughtful, thought-provoking, and routinely excellent. It was a real challenge to narrow it down to just six recipients. Our congratulations to the winners and our sincere thanks to everyone who took part in the contest. We can’t wait for next year!”
Left: Second-place finisher Steve Karp, age 12 (center) and his brother meeting Jackie Robinson in Stamford; Right: Tony Sanches with his winning prize outside the Westport Center for Senior Activities.
In addition to Harmer, the judges for the inaugural essay contest were freelance journalist and author Jill Amadio, Westport-based journalist Robin Chung, Westport Library Marketing and Communications Director EJ Crawford, Common Ground Initiative committee member Ifeseyi Gayle, writer and former Westport poet laureate Diane Lowman, and author Michaela MacColl.
Playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, becoming the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. He went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career that included more than 1,500 hits, 137 home runs, and 197 stolen bases.
Robinson later became the first African American to hold an officer-level position at a major corporation, served as an advisor to top politicians, actively promoted economic empowerment by co-founding a bank and a housing development company, and was a key figure in advancing equal justice and first-class citizenship from the 1950s until his death in 1972. (Information courtesy the Jackie Robinson Museum.)
