Since my induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990, I've had many great moments visiting Cooperstown, N.Y., the Hall's hometown. But none impacted me more than my meeting and subsequent car ride -- from Cooperstown to the Albany airport -- with Sam Lacy and his son, Tim.

	Legendary black sportswriter Sam Lacy was instrumental in the integration of baseball.

For those who don't know about him, Lacy was the sports editor of The Afro-American Newspaper in Baltimore from 1944 until his death on Thursday. The legendary African-American journalist was 99.

Early in his career, Lacy wrote often about the need to integrate Major League Baseball. Lacy, together with fellow black journalist Wendell Smith, wrote columns advocating the inclusion of African-Americans in the majors long before Dodgers executive Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson.

Lacy's persistence and persuasion were major factors that led to Robinson becoming the first African-American to cross baseball's color line.

When you spoke with Sam Lacy, you felt like you were talking to a combination of Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin and other great black leaders and writers of the past.

As the chronicler of historic moments in American sport and society, Lacy became as big a star in his day as the athletes he covered -- men like Robinson, Jesse Owens, Joe Louis and many more. He became friends with these athletes. He traveled with them and became part of their lives.

Lacy told me about the times he traveled with Jackie Robinson, when segregation forced them to stay in the same hotels and eat at the same restaurants.

Lacy loved baseball more than any other sport, and he believed baseball could be a vehicle for society to become more integrated and more equitable for everyone. The purpose of his writing was not just to get Robinson into the majors. It was about getting our society to realize that African-Americans should be involved, with dignity and equality, in all aspects of American life.

Lacy's concern was always bigger than sport -- it was always about the pursuit of a better society for all Americans.

90-Minute History Lesson
On that drive from Cooperstown to the Albany airport, I talked with Lacy about the Negro Leagues, among other baseball topics.

I've always been fascinated with the Negro Leagues. I wrote my college thesis about the Negro Leagues after lots of research, and as a result I thought I was well-versed in the subject. But in that 90-minute ride I learned more about the history of the Negro Leagues than I had in reading many books and writing my thesis.

Lacy told me about a number of players I didn't know much about. He said the hardest thrower he knew was Bullet Joe Rogan and the best all-around player was Oscar Charleston. He spoke of seeing Negro League legends like Cool Papa Bell, Satchel Paige and many others.

I wrote my college thesis about the Negro Leagues.

As I listened to his words, everything I'd read in those books came alive.

When you read a book, you're really reading it in your own voice. When Lacy spoke to me about that historic era, it came alive.

When you talked with Lacy, it was impossible not to be impressed. I had known who he was, but to sit and talk with him was unbelievable. After that, I tried to find ways to ride with him again! In fact, I did see him and speak with him over the years, in Baltimore or at baseball venues around the country.

But that ride to the airport still stands out as a highlight to me. What made it so rewarding? It was 90 minutes straight, with no interruptions -- just an hour-and-a-half of talking about baseball and life.

No Animosity
Another feature stands out about Lacy: In conversation, when he recalled segregation and baseball's color line and society's racism, there was no animosity or bitterness. It seemed that he felt there was a reason things happen, and now society is moving in the right direction. Indeed, society is in better shape now -- not perfect, but better, thanks in part to Lacy's vision and efforts.

There was no bitterness even when he told stories of not being allowed to sit in the press box because of the color of his skin. He had to sit on the roof once to cover an exhibition game in New Orleans -- and he said he was touched when some of his white colleagues came to sit with him.

Some of those colleagues sat with him on other occasions when he was banned from the press box, and he said he always appreciated their kind gestures. That's the kind of guy of he was -- he earned that kind of loyalty and respect.

I've met lots of great people, and Sam Lacy is unquestionably one of them. Most importantly, he was a class person -- a gentlemen of all gentlemen who had the courage to do what needed to be done. He was the kind of guy anyone would want to have as a father.

I will always remember that ride with him from Cooperstown to the airport. I will always remember his contributions to baseball -- and how he made America a better place.

Jackie's True Potential? We'll Never Know
Something I've always felt -- and Lacy agreed with me -- is that we'll never know how good Jackie Robinson could have been. He played under a different pressure, an immense pressure, and he still played well enough to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Robinson's 10-year career with the Brooklyn Dodgers spanned 1947-56. He batted .311 with 137 home runs, 734 RBI, 947 runs and 197 stolen bases.

Jackie Robinson had an inner fire -- a competitiveness and a desire to win.

The Dodgers won six NL pennants and one World Series ('55) in Robinson's 10 years. In the four years that Robinson's Dodgers didn't take the pennant, they finished second three times and third once. Included was the famous playoff-game loss to the Giants in '51, courtesy of Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World."

If Robinson could play today, he would be much better than he was then. He would be able to relax and just play baseball. All the comparisons of other ballplayers to Robinson -- people even compared me to him -- are irrelevant. You can't compare, and we'll never really know what he could have done apart from the pressure-cooker only he fully understood.

Robinson was an extraordinary, tough individual and one of the most intelligent athletes of his day. Besides his toughness, which enabled him to endure his unique crucible, he had an inner fire -- a competitiveness and a desire to win.

No one else had to play under the pressure and the strain he faced every day for years as the color-line pioneer -- the racial taunting, the death threats and beyond. If he had the same atmosphere I had when my career began in the '60s, who knows...?

Some said he wasn't even the best player in the Negro Leagues at the time, and that may be true. But he was the best man for the job that needed to be done.

Chat Reminder: I'll answer your questions in an ESPN.com chat Friday at 10:45 a.m. ET.

An analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan won back-to-back World Series with the Reds. He contributes a weekly column to ESPN.com.