This is the prayer I gave at the start of today’s session of the House of Delegates.

This is the earliest Opening Day in Orioles history.

Fifty years ago, Opening Day was delayed one day.

The day before, the funeral service was held for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Among those in the funeral march was Jackie Robinson.

In 1968, there were two Robinsons in the Orioles starting lineup.

Brooks had graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1955, two years before federal troops were needed to enforce a court order to desegregate the school.

When Frank Robinson arrived in the segregated Baltimore of 1966, he was initially denied a decent home to rent.

I told that story in my Opening Day prayer two years ago.

Later, at the game, I met a woman who had read my prayer online.

Mrs. Glenn and her husband have season tickets in my section.

We have become baseball friends.

Two future Hall of Famers hit home runs on April 10, 1968 – Brooks and Reggie Jackson. The Orioles beat the Oakland A’s, 3-1.

I don’t remember if I was at Memorial Stadium that day.

I may have been across the street in a City College classroom.

My parents, unlike the Speaker, did not always give me the day off from school on Opening Day.

Play ball!