Jackie Robinson: Stealing Home
"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." --- Jackie Robinson
It's been 70 years since Jackie Robinson played baseball for the Montreal Royals and changed the game forever.
It was 1946, and the Montreal Royals was the farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The president and co-owner of the Dodgers, Branch Rickey, was determined to break the colour barrier and have a black man play in the majors. He chose Montreal as the place and Jackie Robinson as the player. From then on, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was unstoppable. He didn't just change the game of baseball, he changed the way Americans viewed race relations. Along the way he became one of the greatest players of all time.
In 2017, the world will mark Robinson's start in Brooklyn as a Dodger. But to honour the 70th anniversary of his debut in Montreal, Rewind features a documentary from 1997 called Stealing Home. It was produced by Paul Kennedy, the host of the CBC Radio program Ideas. And although the hour deals mostly with Jackie's years with the Dodgers, his major league career success could never have happened without Montreal. Jackie and his wife Rachel had fond memories of their time there. Jackie was treated first and foremost as a baseball player, rather than a black man. You'll hear from baseball players, fans and journalists who share memories of Jackie Robinson.
"In the 40's and 50's, baseball was something people lived and died with. So it was symbolic that blacks weren't allowed to play. In essence, racism was the national pastime, not baseball. It was into this backdrop that Branch Rickey and the Dodgers dropped Jackie as a pioneer of race relations."--- Jules Tygiel, author and historian
When Jackie Robinson started in the majors, racism in America was standard; an established fact. He faced opposition from teammates, players and managers from other clubs, journalists, and some would say umpires as well. And then of course there were the fans. There were rumours of player strikes and petitions, all in an attempt to force Jackie off the diamond and out of the game. He received death threats and was routinely barred from hotels and restaurants. But he carried on, knowing his fight for equality was more important than his own reaction. In the words of Dodgers teammate and on-the-road roommate Joe Black, Jackie made it possible for all young men to have a dream. Before the world knew Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks, it was Jackie who brought non-violence to race relations. He proved that blacks and whites could play together and work together. He represented hope. The public responded to Jackie's dignity, composure and bravery. The fact that he was immensely talented on the field even in the face of the adversity helped too. Robinson was the consummate player: he could swing, he could catch and he could run, stealing bases like no one else. Fans flocked to the games, breaking attendance records because they wanted to see him play.
"Jackie could run. When I played outfield and he hit a single, I would throw to third."--- Tommy Holmes, Outfielder for the Boston Braves
Jackie Robinson spent ten years with the Dodgers, retiring in 1957. In 1949 he was voted the league's Most Valuable Player. He was the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1972, the Dodgers retired his uniform number of 42.
Robinson's signing to the major leagues in 1947 opened the door for other black players like Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and many more.
"I think the main thing Jackie did was change people. We improved as human beings because of Jackie Robinson. That's his greatest legacy."--- Lester Rodney, Brooklyn Journalist
Robinson retired from baseball in 1956 at the age of 38 and became an executive with a restaurant chain. He continued to fight for racial equality and was an advocate for integrating corporate America.
He died of a heart attack in 1972. The following year his wife Rachel started a foundation in his name to promote his legacy as a civil rights pioneer and to provide scholarships for young people.
"His powerful arms lifted not only bats, but barriers. In his last dash, he stole home. And Jackie is safe."--- Jesse Jackson, from his eulogy for Jackie Robinson's funeral
In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers set up their spring training camp in Havana, Cuba, just prior to Robinson's debut in the majors. The club wanted to stay clear of possible racial tension at their regular training camp in Florida.
When President Barack Obama visited Cuba in March this year, he invited Rachel Robinson and daughter Sharon Robinson as special guests. They attended an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National team with Cuban President Raul Castro in attendance as well.
