And the Fans Roared with 2 Audio CDs: Recapture the Excitement of Great Moments in Sports with CD (Audio) (Paperback)

Excerpt

Disc 1 • Track 2 April 15, 1947

Jackie Robinson
Integrates Baseball

It doesn't really matter how many home runs Jackie Robinson hit, how many bases he stole, how many championships his team won, or even how many sports at which he excelled. Robinson may have been a tremendous athlete, but all the normal yardsticks have to be thrown out when measuring his impact. His career broke all the rules. By being the first to break the unwritten rule forbidding integration in baseball, Jackie Robinson literally changed the face of sports over the last half of the 20th century, at the same time changing American society forever.

Robinson's appearance in the starting lineup for the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day of the 1947 baseball season made him the first African-American to play in the major leagues after nearly seventy years of segregation and prejudice. The media paid little attention to the ground-breaking lineup. Either out of ignorance over the significance of the event—or more likely out of disapproval—most accounts buried Robinson's debut at the bottom of the story. But they couldn't bury the reverberations from that breakthrough moment

Later that year, Larry Doby, another African-American player and former Negro Leaguer, cracked the Cleveland Indians' lineup. But full integration would still be a long time coming. The Boston Red Sox became the last major league team to integrate in 1959.

But in the beginning, Robinson stood alone. He was subjected to everything from the cruel taunts and flashing spikes of other players to death threats from anonymous hate-mongers. "Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ballplayer who could have done what he did," said teammate Pee Wee Reese.

In search of the perfect candidate to be the pioneer black player, Dodgers president Branch Rickey wanted someone who could be defiant, but not disrespectful. The player would have to be strong enough to take the abuse and humiliation without giving it back.

Of course, there was another key element required of Rickey's candidate. His choice had to be not only diplomatic enough to make his mark off the field, but talented enough to make a mark on the field. If he was no better than mediocre as a player, who would notice?

Nobody had ever failed to notice Robinson on the athletic field. At UCLA, Robinson was his division's leading scorer on the basketball team, a star halfback on the football team, the NCAA broad-jump champion, and, of course, a baseball player. Ironically, baseball was only considered Robinson's fourth-best sport in college.

In his first year with the Dodgers, Robinson answered all those who questioned his ability, and was named the National League Rookie of the Year. His best season was just two years later, in 1949, when he hit .342 to lead the National League, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player.

Having not come up to the big leagues until he was twenty-eight years old, Robinson played only ten years in the majors, finishing with cumulative statistics that were certainly good, but not spectacular. He had a career batting average of .311, with 137 home runs, 734 RBIs, and 197 stolen bases. But spectacular is the only word to describe Robinson's style of play. Whether he was challenging a pitcher at the plate, dashing around the bases with his cap flying off, or wading into the raised cleats of a sliding runner as he turned a double play, Robinson had flair.

He excelled at one of baseball's most spectacular plays, the stealing of home plate. Robinson successfully pulled it off nineteen times, including a dramatic steal in the first game of the 1955 World Series against the New York Yankees.

In 1956, Robinson and the Dodgers faced the Yankees again in a World Series rematch, their seventh Series showdown in sixteen years. It would be memorable for two events. First, in Game 5, Yankees pitcher Don Larsen pitched a perfect game, giving the Yankees a three games to two lead in the Series. Then, in Game 6, Jackie Robinson smacked his last base hit in the major leagues.

Game 6 was scoreless into the bottom of the tenth inning and Robinson was batting clean-up. Yankees pitcher Bob Turley was on the mound. The Dodgers had two men on base, center fielder Duke Snider on first, and second baseman Jim Gilliam on second.

The count was 1-1 to Robinson. "Now the right hander's ready," said radio announcer Bob Wolff. "Gilliam, hands on hips, leads off second base, a little further now. Robinson waits. Here comes the pitch." Robinson connected. "And there goes a line drive to left field! Against the wall! Here comes Gilliam scoring, Brooklyn wins!" shouted Wolff. Jackie Robinson's clutch single won the game and evened the Series at three apiece. But Robinson went 0 for 3 in Game 7. The Yankees beat the Dodgers 9 to 0, decisively taking the championship.

Just prior to the start of the 1957 season, Robinson was traded to the Dodgers' bitter rival, the New York Giants. Instead of reporting, he opted for retirement, ending his historic career.

Roger Kahn perhaps best describes Robinson's effect on society in his book Boys of Summer. "By applauding Robinson," wrote Kahn, "a man did not feel that he was taking a stand on school integration, or on open housing. But for an instant, he had accepted Robinson simply as a hometown ballplayer."

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