Chapter two
Chapter two on the integration of Major League Baseball
Satchel, Campanella and Robinson
Seth Thomas
It was 1944, and Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first Commissioner of Baseball passed away. He left behind a legacy of turning baseball around from the 1919 "Black Sox Scandal", raised salaries and cleaned tarnished reputations. But he also left behind a legacy of 24 years of segregated baseball, and screams of "foul!" when owners would attempt to bring in top Negro League stars.
It was 1945 and Wesley Branch Rickey formed a new Negro League, the United States League. At first, with everyone unaware of his plans, he was criticized for the support of segregation in Baseball. However, it would later be revealed that the league was a front that Branch Rickey put up as an excuse to scout black players to end the segregation he was accused of supporting (Encyclopedia of Britannica). The fabricated league does not even have any record of ever playing one game.
But who could be chosen to break the color barrier? Who had the right mix of talent, charisma, and ability to turn the other cheek? As Rickey scouted the Negro Leagues pretending to look for players for his new league (but actually looking for the first black MLB player since Moses Fleetwood Walker), it became evident he would decide, and no one else. There were three players who would rise to the forefront of the search by the end: the pitcher Leroy Satchel Paige, the catcher Roy Campanella, and first baseman Jack Roosevelt Robinson (Burns 308, Wikipedia).
Satchel Paige was the biggest name considered, along with Josh Gibson early on, but failing health eliminated him from the race. Rickey was looking for skills on the field, integrity and a conservative outlook (Encyclopedia of Britannica). Paige was certainly good enough for the majors, that was not in doubt. He would even put any doubts to rest when he became the oldest "rookie" in MLB history in 1948. But he was also known for being unpredictable (sometimes not showing up to games at all) and was too charismatic for what Rickey was looking for. Roy Campanella fit each category and many thought he was the best fit. In a way he was, but Rickey felt he was almost too straight. Campanella was too soft spoken to accomplish something like this (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia).
Rickey saw Robinson, with his smooth running and hitting, and his conservative upbringing. Many in on the decision feared that Robinson was too competitive, and that his temper was too great. They saw a ticking time bomb, while Rickey saw a perfect combination. Negro League great Buck O'Neil did not envy Robinson's position, saying "He was the only one that could have done carried that load because he knew that if he had done something wrong, he could set it back fifty more years" (Burns 230).
Jackie was signed by Branch Rickey, just under a year after Kenesaw Mountain Landis had died, to the Montreal Royals, a Dodger farm team. Rickey knew Robinson could have started that very day and starred, but he was not naive about the reception Robinson would receive in New York. He cleverly sent him to Canada, where race was not as big an issue, but to also convince the public this was not just publicity, but a great ballplayer as well. But there was still great opposition. Bob Feller claimed that if he were white "I doubt if they would even consider him big-league material" (Burns 289). After Robinson promised Rickey that he would turn the other cheek for three years, he was sent up to Montreal, where the Mississippi born manager Clay Hopper asked Rickey "Do you really think a nigger's a human being?" (Burn 287).
After going 4 for 4 in his debut (including a three-run homer and two stolen bases), the New York times said "this would have been a big day for any man, but under the special circumstances, it was a tremendous feat" (Burns 289). It was a great season for Robinson, despite having to endure insults, spiking base runners, spitting fans and separate hotels. He would lead them to the Little World Series where after the game a friend said "It was probably the only day in history, that a black man ran from a white mob with love, instead of lynching on its mind" (Burns 230). Rickey had his first converts, including the team's manager who called him a fine human being.
When Rickey was preparing Robinson for his first season in the majors, several southerners on the Dodgers passed around a petition calling to be traded rather than play alongside a black man. The petition did not go very far, but it represented the main reason blacks had been kept out of playing time. White stars refusing to be on the same field as a black often took any scheme apart, and their acceptance was crucial. Throughout the year he endured not just insults from the fans, and not just from the opponents, but from his own team. It didn't take long though for the team to come around to Robinson's side when Pee Wee Reese refused to sign the petition and when Eddie Stanky yelled at the team that they should pick on someone who can talk back (Burns, 291).
The season was filled with moments of great patience by Jackie Robinson, but he could not hold back a couple times. When an Umpire told him to "go back to the jungle you little nigger!" he punched him in the face (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia). But the first season had its moments that kept Jackie going through all the hardships. When the Philadelphia Phillies were jeering him, they screamed to Pee Wee, "How can you play with this nigger?" He then trotted over to Robinson and put his arm around him, smiling (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia). There weren't only emotional victories that season, either. What may have brought the most fans over to his side was his unrivaled determination on the field, which resulted in the receiving of the Rookie of the Year award and two years later, the Most Valuable Player award.
Although he played his whole career under constant abuse from players and fans, including death threats to him, his wife and his son, he did not push his race back fifty years, but thrust America fifty years forward.
Satchel, Campanella and Robinson
Seth Thomas
It was 1944, and Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first Commissioner of Baseball passed away. He left behind a legacy of turning baseball around from the 1919 "Black Sox Scandal", raised salaries and cleaned tarnished reputations. But he also left behind a legacy of 24 years of segregated baseball, and screams of "foul!" when owners would attempt to bring in top Negro League stars.
It was 1945 and Wesley Branch Rickey formed a new Negro League, the United States League. At first, with everyone unaware of his plans, he was criticized for the support of segregation in Baseball. However, it would later be revealed that the league was a front that Branch Rickey put up as an excuse to scout black players to end the segregation he was accused of supporting (Encyclopedia of Britannica). The fabricated league does not even have any record of ever playing one game.
But who could be chosen to break the color barrier? Who had the right mix of talent, charisma, and ability to turn the other cheek? As Rickey scouted the Negro Leagues pretending to look for players for his new league (but actually looking for the first black MLB player since Moses Fleetwood Walker), it became evident he would decide, and no one else. There were three players who would rise to the forefront of the search by the end: the pitcher Leroy Satchel Paige, the catcher Roy Campanella, and first baseman Jack Roosevelt Robinson (Burns 308, Wikipedia).
Satchel Paige was the biggest name considered, along with Josh Gibson early on, but failing health eliminated him from the race. Rickey was looking for skills on the field, integrity and a conservative outlook (Encyclopedia of Britannica). Paige was certainly good enough for the majors, that was not in doubt. He would even put any doubts to rest when he became the oldest "rookie" in MLB history in 1948. But he was also known for being unpredictable (sometimes not showing up to games at all) and was too charismatic for what Rickey was looking for. Roy Campanella fit each category and many thought he was the best fit. In a way he was, but Rickey felt he was almost too straight. Campanella was too soft spoken to accomplish something like this (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia).
Rickey saw Robinson, with his smooth running and hitting, and his conservative upbringing. Many in on the decision feared that Robinson was too competitive, and that his temper was too great. They saw a ticking time bomb, while Rickey saw a perfect combination. Negro League great Buck O'Neil did not envy Robinson's position, saying "He was the only one that could have done carried that load because he knew that if he had done something wrong, he could set it back fifty more years" (Burns 230).
Jackie was signed by Branch Rickey, just under a year after Kenesaw Mountain Landis had died, to the Montreal Royals, a Dodger farm team. Rickey knew Robinson could have started that very day and starred, but he was not naive about the reception Robinson would receive in New York. He cleverly sent him to Canada, where race was not as big an issue, but to also convince the public this was not just publicity, but a great ballplayer as well. But there was still great opposition. Bob Feller claimed that if he were white "I doubt if they would even consider him big-league material" (Burns 289). After Robinson promised Rickey that he would turn the other cheek for three years, he was sent up to Montreal, where the Mississippi born manager Clay Hopper asked Rickey "Do you really think a nigger's a human being?" (Burn 287).
After going 4 for 4 in his debut (including a three-run homer and two stolen bases), the New York times said "this would have been a big day for any man, but under the special circumstances, it was a tremendous feat" (Burns 289). It was a great season for Robinson, despite having to endure insults, spiking base runners, spitting fans and separate hotels. He would lead them to the Little World Series where after the game a friend said "It was probably the only day in history, that a black man ran from a white mob with love, instead of lynching on its mind" (Burns 230). Rickey had his first converts, including the team's manager who called him a fine human being.
When Rickey was preparing Robinson for his first season in the majors, several southerners on the Dodgers passed around a petition calling to be traded rather than play alongside a black man. The petition did not go very far, but it represented the main reason blacks had been kept out of playing time. White stars refusing to be on the same field as a black often took any scheme apart, and their acceptance was crucial. Throughout the year he endured not just insults from the fans, and not just from the opponents, but from his own team. It didn't take long though for the team to come around to Robinson's side when Pee Wee Reese refused to sign the petition and when Eddie Stanky yelled at the team that they should pick on someone who can talk back (Burns, 291).
The season was filled with moments of great patience by Jackie Robinson, but he could not hold back a couple times. When an Umpire told him to "go back to the jungle you little nigger!" he punched him in the face (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia). But the first season had its moments that kept Jackie going through all the hardships. When the Philadelphia Phillies were jeering him, they screamed to Pee Wee, "How can you play with this nigger?" He then trotted over to Robinson and put his arm around him, smiling (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia). There weren't only emotional victories that season, either. What may have brought the most fans over to his side was his unrivaled determination on the field, which resulted in the receiving of the Rookie of the Year award and two years later, the Most Valuable Player award.
Although he played his whole career under constant abuse from players and fans, including death threats to him, his wife and his son, he did not push his race back fifty years, but thrust America fifty years forward.