New York Yankees brass announced that they will be honoring the late civil and human rights leader, and former South African president Nelson Mandela with a plaque in Monument Park, according to David Waldstein of the New York Times.
An excerpt from the Waldstein report:
"During Nelson Mandela’s triumphant visit to New York in June 1990, shortly after he was released from a South African prison, one of his most memorable stops was a rally and concert at Yankee Stadium, where he donned a cap and jacket and proclaimed, “I am a Yankee.”To commemorate that moment and the life of Mandela, the South African leader who died last week at age 95, the Yankees will place a plaque in Monument Park to be unveiled on Jackie Robinson Day, April 15, when the Yankees play the Chicago Cubs. [NY Times]"
Mandela passed away on Thursday at the age of 95. He was widely known as a huge sports fan, particularly of boxing.
"Sports has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair,” Mandela famously said in a 2006 speech."
The only other non-Yankees to be honored with a plaque in Monument Park are Robinson, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and the victims of the September 11th attacks.