He knew who Robinson was.

I think Showalter and Hart turned what could have been an embarrassing story into an inspiring story.  Buck went out of his way to not embarrass Hart after the story broke, and Hart could not possibly have responded any better. And, the whole story sends a great message to "respect the game".

I think so as well Mid

good article. its a shame but this is im afraid more typical than not. trying not to sound too old but nowadays not too many kids really know much about the history of baseball. I make it a point (and have for the past 5 years or so) to sit my 15yo down for a Ken Burns baseball marathon, its like pulling teeth sometimes, he sits through it and i know subconsciously he is gaining insight but quite frankly there are many other things he would rather be doing other than learning about baseball history which is a shame. for what its worth once the series gets into color his attention span is better.

for me and im sure most here baseball is not just about a game, its american history. 

I grew up in the 70's, when i was 15 i could spew out stats for almost any player playing, my son and his friends are lucky if they can name 3 players on any given team and that info comes from sports center highlights. Its not that they don't love playing baseball because they all do

I think there is an innocent explanation for all of this.  It's possible that someone said, "Hey, you know who that is?"  and it's entirely possible the young man simply did not "recognize" Robinson.  When I saw a recent picture of Robinson, he looks much different than my memory of him in his playing days.  It's possible the kid knew all about Robinson as the OP suggests but simply did not recognize the man in person because his looks have changed due to age.