Published: April 23, 2008 05:04 pm            

DeKAY: A player for all time

“True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.”

— Napolean Bonaparte

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It is hard to believe that it has been 61 years ago this month, that the then-Brooklyn Dodgers manager, Branch Rickey, signed the first black professional baseball player, Jackie Robinson, to play for a major league team.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919. He and his four siblings were raised by their single mother, who moved her family to Pasadena, Calif. Robinson was a sports star even in high school, and won a scholarship to the University of California at Los Angeles. There he became the first UCLA athlete to win varsity letters in four sports — football, baseball, basketball and track. In 1941 he left college and did a brief stint in the U.S. Army. After protesting black treatment in the military, he was arrested when he refused to obey a driver’s order to move to the back of a segregated bus. He was later acquitted at a court martial hearing and received an honorary discharge in 1944.

He began his professional baseball career in 1945 with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. There he got the attention of Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey was known as a fearless and innovative manager, and he liked what he saw in Robinson. He decided to sign Robinson and in the process, challenge the MLB’s white’s only color barrier. On April 15, 1947, Robinson became the first ever black player in the 20th century, to play for a major league team. Rickey, being aware of the abuse Robinson might be exposed to made it clear to Robinson that he could not retaliate or acknowledge the taunts and racial slurs that would surely come from fans and from opposing team dugouts.

Robinson played first base his first year with the Dodgers, then moved to second base for the next several years. It was at second base that he teamed up with Pee Wee Reese for one of the brightest double-play combinations in baseball. On one occasion as Pee Wee recalls in a New York Times article by Ira Berkow, the taunts from the fans, were really bad. Pee Wee walked to second base to stand beside Robinson in silent solidarity. Putting his hand on Robinson’s shoulder, he stood beside his friend, staring at the unruly fans until they were silent.

The Dodgers won the 1947 NL pennant and Robinson was named the Rookie of the Year. He became known, during his 10 years with the Dodgers as an aggressive base runner, stealing home 19 times. In 1949, he was voted MVP with a .342 batting average with 37 steals and 124 RBI’s. The incredible part is that he played like a professional, and a champion while being taunted, heckled and harassed on and off the field.

A glimpse into Jackie Robinson the man is revealed in a story recounted in Fred Claire’s book, “My 30 Years in Dodger Blue.” In his book Claire tells about an incident that happened in 1972 when the Dodgers honored Robinson and others by retiring their uniforms. Robinson was then 53 years old, was retired and battling the ravages of diabetes. He had experienced retinal bleeding due to complications from his diabetes. Although he had received laser treatment, his eyesight was nearly gone. As Claire relates, Jackie was standing near the steps of the Dodger dugout, a few minutes before the ceremony was to begin, when a fan, who was seated in the stands above Jackie shouted, “Jackie, Jackie, please sign the ball’. The fan tossed the ball in Jackie’s direction, not realizing that Jackie’s vision was so deteriorated, that he couldn’t see the ball. The ball hit Robinson, bouncing off his shoulder, and striking him on the head. “Those around Jackie shouted at the ball-tossing fan. But above those loud voices came the soothing voice of Jackie Robinson. “Give me the ball,” he said. “Calm down and give me the ball. He doesn’t know.” Jackie Robinson, a man who had endured racial slurs, taunting, spiking, and discrimination from players and fans alike simply signed the ball and had it returned to the fan.

Curt Gowdy wrote in “Seasons to Remember,” “Robinson was far from a household word when Branch Rickey signed him just after the war ended ... Robinson was precisely the type of man Rickey was looking for. He was young, smart, aggressive, and disciplined enough to maintain his poise in the face of almost unbearable abuse. That was probably more important to Rickey than how he played the game.”

Roger Kahn in “The Boys of Summer” said of Robinson, “Thinking about the things that happened, I don’t know any other ball player would, could have done what he did. To be able to hit with everybody yelling at him. He had to block all that out, block out everything but this ball that is coming in at a hundred miles an hour and he’s got a split second to swing. To do what he did has got to be the most tremendous thing I’ve ever seen in sports.”

Robinson became a Dodger, and along with Branch Rickey, Pee Wee Reese and his fellow Dodgers, he took his place on the field, and walked into history.

In January 1957, after his announced retirement in Look magazine and without public notice or fanfare, Robinson cleaned out his locker at Ebbets Field and left Flatbush ballpark. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.

His final public appearance, at Riverfront Stadium before Game 2 of the 1972 World Series between the Reds and the A’s, came on October 14. Robinson died of a heart attack ten days later in his home. Robinson was the first black player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

In January, 2008, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in partnership with the Jackie Robinson Foundation, announced the first “Jackie Robinson Legacy Day” at Dodger Stadium.

“Jackie Robinson gave up his own dignity to gain self-respect for his race -integration will hang forever on his head.” — William Marshall, from “Baseball’s Pivotal Era”

“Thoughts from the Hungry Side of Daybreak” are written by Peggy DeKay, a Clark County resident and business and freelance writer. She can be reached at DKcommunications@insightbb.com.

        

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