More About Carl

In the classic baseball novel “The Boys of Summer,” Carl Erskine was referred to as a philosopher, a poet, an “existential man.” A New York sportswriter called him “the gentleman from Indiana.” Dennis Schmidt, former CEO of Special Olympics Indiana, said Carl is the most decent man he’s ever met. In giving Carl the state’s highest honor, former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said simply: “He’s the best we’ve got.”

Now 95, Carl Erskine is the last man standing of those fabled Brooklyn Dodgers Boys of Summer. And does he have a story to tell.

A story of the Golden Age of Baseball, playing in five Subway Series, setting the series strikeout record, and throwing two no-hitters.

But that’s only the beginning. Carl played a seminal role in two of the great Civil Rights movements of the past century, first as a teammate and close friend of Jackie Robinson, then as a pioneer in the fight for people with special needs. Carl and his wife, Betty, raised their Down syndrome son, Jimmy, at home when there was no schooling or services. They started grass-roots programs, pushed for legislation that ultimately abolished prison-like institutions and is leading to full societal integration.

Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver would fly Carl around the country to give his call to action: Holding his World Series ring in one hand and Jimmy’s Special Olympics gold medal in the other, he would ask the audience which was the greater achievement. Tears all around.

There is not a better man alive than Carl Daniel Erskine. As the country searches for true heroes, a new documentary will capture Carl’s inspirational, beautifully Indiana story for posterity.

“Without the Carl Erskines of the world,
we would never know the real power of sport.”

— Tim Shriver, son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and chair of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors