Opening Day
Page 37
As the Dodgers jogged off the field: “Dodgers Win, 8–7, Take Card Series,” New York Times, September 14, 1947; interview with Branca.
“last bit of passive but ever-apparent”: “Jackie’s Clutch Playing Thaws Flocks’ Reserve,” Daily News, September 16, 1947.
“In selecting the outstanding rookie of 1947”: “Rookie of the Year . . . Jackie Robinson,” Sporting News, September 17, 1947.
gifts that would include a new Cadillac: “Jackie Robinson Given Auto, Wrist Watch, Money,” Chicago Defender, October 4, 1947.
a Jackie Robinson movie and a Jackie Robinson vaudeville show: “Jackie Robinson Takes to Radio, Personal Tours,” Chicago Defender, September 20, 1947.
ten thousand dollars for Robinson to play: “Globetrotters Make For Jackie Robinson,” Chicago Defender, October 4, 1947.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had one man”: “Grimm Convinced Robinson is ‘Slick’ Operator,” St. Louis Argus, September 12, 1947.
what Robinson really deserved was a bigger payday: “The Powerhouse,” Daily News, September 23, 1947.
As researcher Henry Fetter has noted: “Robinson in 1947: Measuring an Uncertain Impact,” Jackie Robinson: Race, Sports, and the American Dream (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998), 183–92.
“Our Bums will make bums of the Yankees”: “Brooks Welcomed By a Happy Crowd,” New York Times, September 20, 1947.
“There’s no use going across the East River”: “Brooks Are Champs at Last,” New York Post, September 23, 1947.
As the Dodgers stepped down: “Reese, Robinson Caught in Jam at N.Y. Station,” Sporting News, October 1, 1947.
“I’m tickled silly”: “Conquering Bums Return as Faithful Go Nertz,” Daily News, September 20, 1947.
CHAPTER TWENTY: SHADOW DANCING
Robinson had no trouble sleeping now: Interview with Rachel Robinson.
only the two most popular men: “Paper Snowstorm Falls on Players,” New York Times, September 27, 1947.
Mallie Robinson flew in: “Jackie’s Wife Busy Calming Jumpy Kin,” New York Post, September 30, 1947; “ ‘He’s Successful Son, Too,’ Jackie’s Ma Says of Him,” Chicago Defender, October 11, 1947.
the mothers stayed with Florence: Interview with Rachel Robinson.
Jack and Rachel felt enough a part: Ibid.
The intensity of the emotions fascinated her: Ibid.
The winners of the Series would get: “Series Swag Misses Record; Yankees’ Full Cut Put at $5,800,” Daily Mirror, October 11, 1947.
134 prominent black out-of-towners: “Sports Fans Swarm Into New York to Watch Jackie Star in Series,” Chicago Defender, October 11, 1947.
“all to see this great boy Robinson”: Ibid.
“Why, we could put on”: “Shotton Picks Flock to Capture Series,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 27, 1947.
He not only predicted victory: “Shotton Set on Starting Hurlers—Lombardi Will Follow Branca,” New York Post, September 27, 1947.
“The New York Yankees should win”: “Experience Gives Yankees Edge Over Dodgers in World Series,” Herald Tribune, September 28, 1947.
“Only one thing remains”: “The Sports Parade,” New York Post, September 24, 1947.
a called strike from Spec Shea: “Durocher Has His Day, Shakes Hands with Hap,” Daily Mirror, October 1, 1947.
25,000 or so watching from nearby rooftops: “Cross-Section of U.S. Sees Opener of Classic,” Daily Mirror, October 1, 1947.
Fifty thousand television sets: “The News of Radio,” New York Times, October 10, 1947.
One watering hole in Flatbush: “Young Mound Aces Slated for Action,” New York Times, September 30, 1947.
At the Park Avenue Theatre: “1st Televised World’s Series Game Nips Broadway Theatre B.O. by 50%,” Variety, October 1, 1947.
When Judge Samuel S. Liebowitz heard: “Series Fever Grips Court,” New York Times, October 1, 1947.
When President Truman was asked: “Truman to Pass Series; Has Too Much to Do,” Chicago Tribune, September 26, 1947.
Twenty-two men worked the cameras: “In the Wake of the News,” Chicago Tribune, October 1, 1947.
New, more powerful camera lenses: “Baseball on Video,” New York Times, October 5, 1947.
“To the individual before a television screen”: Ibid.
no problem picking up Robinson: “By the Way,” Los Angeles Times, October 3, 1947.
Robinson had a smile on his face: “A Mother Looks On,” New York Post, October 1, 1947.
Mallie Robinson strained: Ibid.
saw her lips form the words: Ibid.
“I know all about Robinson”: “Yankees Deride Dodgers’ Bunt and Run Attack,” Chicago Tribune, September 30, 1947.
“If I had an arm like that”: “First Game Gossip,” Sporting News, October 8, 1947.
throwing a ball from home plate into a barrel: “Fourth Game Gossip,” Sporting News, October 15, 1947.
he bolted for third before he could see: Movie reel footage.
“hithering and thithering”: “By the Way,” Los Angeles Times, October 3, 1947.
Shea, in at least one: “Clinical Notes on First Game,” Brooklyn Eagle, October 1, 1947.
Shea picked up the ball and slammed it angrily: Movie reel footage.
“For the first time in my life”: “The Other Side,” Chicago Defender, October 11, 1947.
“You’ll go wild!”: “Powerhouse,” Daily News, October 2, 1947.
They bought him a savings bond: Golenbock, Bums, 194.
“You don’t think I was scared”: “Dodgers Unawed by Yankee ‘Might,’ ” Daily News, October 1, 1947.
“This is one defeat that gave us confidence”: Ibid.
“Yes”: “Shotton’s New Suit and Bow Tie Fail to Change Dodgers’ Style,” Herald Tribune, October 2, 1947.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: “WE AREN’T AFRAID”
Ted Williams showed up: “This Morning With Shirley Povich,” Washington Post, October, 5, 1947.
their team bus pelted with eggs: Interview with Ralph Houk.
“bored and contemptuous”: “Views of Sport,” Herald Tribune, October 2, 1947.
“All right, Pete”: “Inside Story of an Inning That Hit the Peak of Drama,” Sporting News, October 15, 1947.
Bevens made up his mind: “Lavagetto Mussed Up by Dodgers; Yanks Funereal, Bev Near Tears,” Daily News, October 4, 1947.
Men edged forward: “Cookie’s Rap Turns No-Hit Loss Into Dodger Victory,” Sporting News, October 15, 1947.
Lavagetto knew that Bevens: Golenbock, Bums, 178.
Bevens inhaled, checked the runner: Movie reel footage.
Lavagetto grimaced and swung: Ibid.
“We had it all the way”: “Mad Dodgers Maul Cookie; Harris Defends Reiser Walk,” Daily Mirror, October 4, 1947.
“You got one yesterday”: Golenbock, Bums, 178.
Lavagetto was looking for a slider: Ibid.
he would also remember the strikeout: Ibid., 179.
“He was our best player”: Interview with Bobby Bragan.
“They got no class”: “Yank Jockeys Anger Jackie,” People’s Voice, October 11, 1947.
The ball was out of Rizzuto’s hands: Movie reel footage.
He felt as if his knees: Interview with Bragan.
Bragan’s father didn’t notice: Notes from Tygiel interview of Johnny Jorgensen, Baseball Hall of Fame.
“What’s that little Italian’s name?”: Golenbock, Bums, 179.
“a good drive in a Buick”: Ibid.
he felt uneasy about it: Ibid., 181.
Nothing in his life had ever felt so good: “Gionfriddo Got Thrill of Lifetime Making Catch,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 6, 1947.
“I guess I hit a few harder”: “Just Dropped Into Glove, Explains Al Gionfriddo,” Daily Mirror, October 6, 1947.
Even Gionfriddo admitted: “Gionfriddo Got Thrill of Lifetime Making Catch,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 6, 1947.
“They are more uniquely Ameri
can”: “The World Series,” New York Times, October 7, 1947.
“Whether the Dodgers win or lose now”: “Robbie Bats .296, Fields Brilliantly,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 11, 1947.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: “AND THE WORLD SERIES IS OVER!”
made up his mind to throw no curves: “It’s Page, Page, Page for the Jack, Jack, Jack, After the Fray,” Daily Mirror, October 7, 1947.
With each pitch, Page became more convinced: Ibid.
Yankee Stadium was awash in sunshine: “Yanks Champs! Trim Flock, 5–2; MacPhail Retires From Baseball,” Daily News, October 7, 1947.
Page threw one last fastball: Ibid.
“It’s a double play!”: “Dodger Clubhouse Heartbreak Hotel,” Daily Mirror, October 7, 1947.
took a baseball out of his glove: Ibid.
This wasn’t the time or place: Barber, 1947, 360.
“We got beat”: “Dodger Clubhouse Heartbreak Hotel,” Daily Mirror, October 7, 1947.
The broadcaster shook hands: Barber, 1947, 357.
scuffed-up baseball in his right hand: Robinson and Smith, Jackie Robinson, 141.
“We lost”: “Bums Swear Revenge,” People’s Voice, October 11, 1947.
They told him he played a fine game of ball: Robinson and Smith, Jackie Robinson, 169.
EPILOGUE
three thousand dollars a week plus: “GAC Setting Up Dates For Jackie Robinson, Negro Ball Player,” Variety, September 24, 1947.
knew that professional athletes: “Jackie Asks for Fans’ Advice on ’48 Pay, Gets ‘$20,000’ Reply,” Sporting News, November 12, 1947.
“Everyone on the team treated me swell”: “Jackie Playing to Sellouts; May Net 5 Grand a Week,” Sporting News, October 29, 1947.
“disgusted and ashamed”: Baltimore Afro-American, November 1, 1947.
counseled Robinson to stick to baseball: “Through the Years,” Chicago Defender, November 22, 1947.
“We’d pull off the road”: Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 191.
he usually ate big plates: Ibid., 192.
“We ate like pigs”: Robinson, I Never Had It Made, 71.
“What in the world happened to you?”: Pittsburgh Courier, March 13, 1948.
Robinson was angry: Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 192.
Business was fine at his hardware store: Interviews with Geri Worley, Jack Courson, et al.
placed a call to Walker: “Walker Has Few Regrets,” New York Times, December 9, 1947.
“Naturally, I regret leaving Brooklyn”: Ibid.
“I grew up in the South”: “Dixie Walker Remembers,” New York Times, December 10, 1981.
“This guy didn’t just come to play”: Roger Kahn, Boys of Summer (New York: Harper & Row, 1971), 393.
“unless Jim Crow disappeared”: Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 214.
“A psalm-singing faker”: John C. Chalberg, Rickey & Robinson: The Preacher, the Player, and America’s Game (Wheeling, Ill.: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2000), 150.
“The more I read about the Montgomery situation”: Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 287.
His knees and ankles hurt all the time: Ibid., 299.
business there was not good: Ibid., 252.
construction business had so far: Ibid., 299.
He thought about managing: Ibid.
“Why Can’t I Manage in the Majors?”: Ibid., 300.
The job paid thirty thousand dollars: Ibid., 304.
he had never seen his wife happier: Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 361.
“There I was the black grandson”: Robinson, I Never Had It Made, xxii.
“talk like he’s colored”: Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 424.
Ron Rapoport called the hotel: Interview with Ron Rapoport.
“The light hurts my eyes”: “Jackie Died Hoping MLB Would See the Light,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 19, 2005.
“I honestly believe that baseball”: “Jackie Robinson Seeks and Finds Sensitivity,” Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1972.
The ball struck him painfully: “Jackie Died Hoping MLB Would See the Light,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 19, 2005.
“I wish Branch Rickey could be here”: “Jackie Wants to See Black Man Managing,” Los Angeles Times, October 16, 1972.
“His courage, his sense of brotherhood”: “Nixon, in Tribute, Cites Robinson’s Courage, Brilliance,” New York Times, October 25, 1972.
“a trailblazer for all black people”: Ibid.
“the unconquerable doing the impossible”: “Death of an Unconquerable Man,” New York Times, October 24, 1972.
“I’m as sad as could possibly be”: “Nixon, in Tribute, Cites Robinson’s Courage, Brilliance,” New York Times, October 25, 1972.
INDEX
Adanandus, Harold “Pea Vine,” 16
Ali, Muhammad, 65
Allen, Mel, 261
Alston, Walter, 269
American Association, 29
American Baseball Bureau, 28
American Dilemma, An (Myrdal), 45–46
American League, 25, 101, 138, 170, 182, 185, 186, 188, 189, 195, 202, 208, 267
Amsterdam News, 66–67, 98, 272
Anderson, Marian, 107
Anson, Cap, 29
anti-Semitism, 74, 76, 83, 138, 156, 169
Ashe, Arthur, 65
Associated Press, 37, 174
Bahr, Ed, 139
Baird, Tom, 187
Baldwin, James, 68
Baltimore Afro-American, 38, 59, 135
Baltimore Elite Giants, 178, 192
Bankhead, Dan, 180, 185, 193, 225–27, 255–56, 261, 267
Bankhead, Sam, 226
Banta, Jack, 110
Barber, Lylah, 114, 116, 117
Barber, Walter Lanier “Red,” 55, 56, 63, 113, 114–18, 121, 122, 127, 149, 178, 190, 214, 215, 227, 261
JR signing and, 116–18
listeners influenced by, 118–19, 121
Barney, Rex, 127, 128, 129, 172, 237, 245
Baruch, Bernard, 212
Baseball Hall of Fame, 188, 190, 269, 271
baseball statistics, 169, 224–25
Basie, Count, 168, 179
Bavasi, Buzzie, 104
Behrman, Hank, 89, 200, 216, 237, 243–44, 245, 259
Bell, Cool Papa, 29, 176
bench jockeying, 22, 73–77, 82, 229, 243, 254, 268
Berardino, Johnny, 188
Berlin Olympics, 10
Berra, Larry “Yogi,” 207, 208, 237–38, 240–41, 269
defensive troubles of, 102, 204, 238, 241
in 1947 World Series, 247, 248, 250–51, 252, 254, 255, 256, 259, 260
Bevens, Floyd Clifford “Bill,” 249–52, 253, 259
Biondi, Martha, 64
black Americans:
as activists, 21–22, 64, 121–22, 133, 134, 156
as fans of JR, 4–5, 49, 52–53, 54, 63, 69, 77, 87, 107, 108, 119, 121, 122, 126–27, 141, 142, 153–54, 161, 163, 170, 175, 190–91, 192, 195, 214, 216, 219, 221, 228–29, 235, 243
federal laws granting rights and protection for, 2, 22–23, 156, 171, 240
in Harlem, 63–64, 69
integration of, see integration; integration, baseball
JR as representative of, 49, 61, 86–87
in the military, 2, 14, 15–16, 64, 65, 124, 134, 171, 177
northern migration of, 2, 64, 70, 123–25, 133, 142
racism and, see racial discrimination
segregation of, see segregation
Southern oppression of, 1–2, 8, 9, 30–32, 156, 171
see also fans, black
Black Boy (Wright), 86
Black Metropolis (Drake and Clayton), 142
Blackwell, Ewell, 251
Boger, Harry J., 58
Bostic, Joe, 135
Boston Braves, 52, 57–59, 76, 105, 111–12, 135, 136, 173, 194, 202, 210–11, 236, 265, 268
Boston Chronicle, 49, 59
Boston Daily, 210
Boston Red Sox, 101–2, 135–36, 175, 188, 203, 204, 205, 208, 246
<
br /> Boudreau, Lou, 51, 183, 184, 189
Bragan, Bobby, 35, 42–43, 44, 147, 172, 254, 255–56, 260, 270–71
Branca, John, 56
Branca, Ralph, 49, 56, 99, 110, 112, 144, 146, 147, 194–95, 200, 213, 216, 220–21, 230, 236, 265
in 1947 World Series, 243, 244, 248, 255
Breadon, Sam, 92, 93–94, 95, 96, 205
Brecheen, Harry “The Cat,” 145, 220
Brock, Mr. and Mrs. David, 32
Broeg, Bob, 93
Brooklyn, N.Y., 113, 114, 148, 155–58, 161, 162
Brooklyn Brown Dodgers, 25, 27, 180
Brooklyn Cyclones, 129
Brooklyn Dodgers, 1, 2, 4, 5, 20, 31, 67, 84, 87, 99, 102, 117, 121, 123, 155, 156, 171, 187, 193, 205, 206, 211, 218, 223, 225–27, 269, 271, 273
anti-JR petition circulated by, 41–45, 50, 89, 90
attendance for, 52–53, 80, 86, 159, 160–61, 161–62, 195, 196, 231–32, 238, 244, 246
black players scouted by, 20, 21, 23, 25–26, 50, 137, 169–70, 176–78, 179–80, 225
Braves vs., 57–59, 111–12, 173, 210–11, 268
Cardinals vs., 96–97, 145–46, 163–64, 194–96, 215–17, 219–24, 227–30
clubhouse of, 70
Cubs vs., 88, 101, 143–44, 164–66
Durocher as manager of, 39–40, 41, 43–44, 50, 57, 129, 144, 211, 212, 265
early season struggles of, 105, 106, 129–30, 140, 144, 146, 160, 163–64, 164, 200, 224
fan following of, 51, 52–53, 66, 76, 77, 80, 81, 90, 114, 115, 118–19, 153–54, 156–57, 161–62, 175, 190–91, 195, 214–15, 227, 230–31, 231–32, 243–44, 246
Giants vs., 62, 63, 66, 68–69, 80–81, 82, 153, 224
injuries of, 130, 159–60, 164, 212
JR’s opening day with, 48–61
media coverage of, 57, 65, 164, 196–97, 199–202, 211, 217, 230, 232, 236, 245, 246, 252
in move to Los Angeles, 162
in 1941 World Series, 237, 248–49
in 1946 season, 33, 39, 51, 52, 56, 129, 200, 212, 220, 224, 225, 243
1947 roster and winning prospects of, 40–41, 56–57, 224
in 1947 World Series, 5, 238–61
1948 season of, 267–68
1949 season of, 268
in 1955 World Series, 269
in pennant race, 144, 146, 160, 163, 166, 173, 174, 194, 196, 200, 202, 212–13, 216, 217, 219, 224, 227, 232–33