Downtown Youngstown in Mahoning County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
'A Handshake for the Century'
Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 24, 2025
1. 'A Handshake for the Century' Marker
If you are ever put on the spot, just do the right thing and everything will work out fine. - George Shotgun Shuba
A life is not important except for the impact it has on other lives. - Jackie Robinson
The handshake: It has long been a symbol of a business agreement, a popular greeting among friends and family and, in sports, a gesture of good sportsmanship.
The handshake offered by Youngstown native George Shuba to Jackie Robinson after Robinson hit his first professional home run on April 18, 1946, in Jersey City, N.J., with the Brooklyn Dodgers' top minor league team, the Montreal Royals, was the first time a white ball player congratulated a black teammate in professional baseball. It has been called "A Handshake for the Century." Many do not know that the two players who were on base and scored on Robinson's hit shunned him and did not wait for him at home plate.
In an era of open racism, that was telling. So was this: The on-deck batter, Shuba, noticed the snub, so he stepped up to shake Robinson's hand, just as he reached home plate. That gesture marked a new era in baseball and much of American
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Robinson played in that historic game because Ohio native Branch Rickey, a co-owner of the Dodgers, had the vision and the courage to challenge Major League Baseball's unwritten rule to ban black players from participating in the country's national pastime. He selected Robinson, who was assigned to the Montreal club. Rickey later said, "There was never a man in the game who could put mind and muscle and everything else together quicker than Jackie Robinson."
This statue commemorates that seminal moment in time that paved the way for integration in professional sports, and it was made possible by the simple, yet powerful, gesture of a man who grew up on Youngstown's West Side.
Shuba died Sept. 23, 2014. He played seven seasons for the Dodgers that included three World Series appearances as well as a World Series championship in 1955. As one local journalist wrote: "It seems surprising today that a handshake would be so significant but baseball at the time was segregated, baseball was America and it was about respect and kindness. It was respect on how to act and how to treat people, regardless of skin color, and the
Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 24, 2025
2. The Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue
This statue is located within Raymond John Wean Foundation Park, along with the Youngstown logo, Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre, and the Youngstown Walk of Fame.
The Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue is a lasting monument to this principle of racial harmony Americans espouse today. That statue should be judged by the color of their skin, but rather by the content of their character. Youngstown is proud of its native son, George Shuba, and honored to be the first Ohio city to showcase a statue honoring Robinson.
Robinson died Oct. 24, 1972. He was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in July 1962. Every year, in April, Major League Baseball honors him with Jackie Robinson Day, where all baseball players wear his number, 42.
Erected 2021 by The Robinson-Shuba Statue Committee.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Sports. A significant historical date for this entry is April 18, 1946.
Location. 41° 5.795′ N, 80° 38.998′ W. Marker is in Youngstown, Ohio, in Mahoning County. It is in Downtown Youngstown. It is on South Walnut Street south of East Front Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map.
Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 24, 2025
3. 'A Handshake for the Century' Marker
The statue was dedicated July 17, 2021. A secondary plaque honors the donors and committee members who supported the statue's construction.
Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Western Reserve and in the Mahoning Valley. It is also in the American Midwest. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Rick Ward (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik (about 400 feet away); Kool & the Gang (about 400 feet away); Billy Beck (about 400 feet away); Jeff "Prime Time" Lampkin (about 400 feet away); Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini (about 400 feet away); Harry "Dirty Harry" Arroyo (about 400 feet away); Greg "The Flea" Richardson (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Youngstown.
Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 24, 2025
4. 'A Handshake for the Century' Marker
Another view of the marker, including the quotations from each of the baseball players.
Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 24, 2025
5. The Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue
The statue depicts the handshake between Jackie Robinson and George Shuba when both were members of the Montreal Royals.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 22, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 147 times since then and 62 times this year. Last updated on August 24, 2026, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 22, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
