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“I told them what they could do with their petition, and I don’t think I got much back talk on it,” he said years later. During a trip to Panama for a three-game series against the Royals, manager Leo Durocher caught wind of the uprising and exploded. Led by Dixie Walker, the de facto leader of the team, the group included Hugh Casey, Carl Furillo, and Bobby Bragan and they started a petition to keep Robinson off the club. Where the team stayed, however, made no difference to a number of White Dodgers who were nonetheless offended by Robinson’s presence. Robinson was irate, but went along with Rickey’s judgment. While the White players were housed at the best resort in the city, the Hotel Nacional, Robinson and the Royals’ other Black players - Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, and Roy Partlow - were taken instead to the Hotel Boston in “old” Havana. Trying to avoid as much of this as possible while preparing Robinson for his major-league debut, Rickey cited Cuba’s passion for baseball and its easy access from the mainland as two good reasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers to hold training camp in Havana in 1947. When Jackie Robinson trained with the Montreal Royals in Daytona Beach, Florida, in the spring of 1946, Branch Rickey began to witness some of the racial confrontations he had feared. “Robinson is everything that Branch Rickey said he was when he came up from Montreal,” said Dixie Walker, one of the Dodgers who were originally unwilling to play with Robinson. He eventually earned Rookie of the Year honors and came in fifth in the MVP voting. He led the NL in stolen bases and finished second in runs scored. Perhaps the most notorious incident came on August 20, when the Cardinals’ Enos Slaughter spiked Robinson in the 11th inning.ĭespite all of the adversity, Robinson persevered. But that did not stop the harassment from opposing players. Robinson’s play on the field, including a 21-game hitting streak in the middle of the season, showed that he belonged in the National League. But the Phillies’ actions only strengthened public support for Robinson and eventually Chapman asked Robinson to pose for a photograph at Shibe Park, falsely giving the impression that there were no tensions between them. Robinson later admitted that this game was the most difficult one of the 1947 season. Led by their manager, the Phillies verbally abused Robinson when they faced the Dodgers for the first time in late April. His worst experience that season came from Ben Chapman and the Philadelphia Phillies. Robinson notched his first hit two days later and his first home run on April 18 when the Dodgers faced the Giants, their crosstown rivals.īut just as quickly as Robinson demonstrated his skills on the field, he faced racial slurs from opposing teams. Although Robinson didn’t get a hit in his first regular-season game on April 15, his bunt in the seventh inning gave the Brooklyn faithful a preview of the type of baseball that Robinson would play. Between April 10 and April 15, Robinson went from being a Montreal Royal to Brooklyn Dodger. Robinson’s road to the major leagues happened quickly in the spring of 1947. His numbers clearly dispelled any doubts that a Black player was not talented enough to play in the majors. He also led the league’s second basemen in fielding percentage. He played for the Montreal Royals in 1946 and led the International League in batting average and runs scored. The 1947 season began with most people expecting Jackie Robinson to take the field in a Dodgers uniform.
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