The Omaha guide., 1947-09-27
Jackie Robinson the
Rookie OF the Year

! owner in the l~owpaying Negro lea
CUES protested against -raiding' theil
men. There had been Negroes in big
league ball before, but they had beer
careful to identify themselves as In
T, dams or Cubans." The late Minor
League President Bill Braham cried:
Father Divine will have to look
to his ~laurels, for we can expect Ric.
key, ignoring the uproar, treated
Jackie white, giving him a years
seasoning in the minors. The four
other Negroes who followed Robinson
to the big leagues this season land
we're generally failures) had no such
break.
Jackie faced hostility, suspicion,
curiosity and every newspaper cramers
within miles when he reported to the
International Leagues Montreal club
for training.
Jackie spoke to his teammates
only when spoken to, and his replies
we're brief and polite. He had long
Gag made it a rule to "let them make
the first move" Soon after the sea.
son opened, the Montreal players
were with him. 1t took longer to win
over the fans, and the other players
in the league.
Black Cat, Good Luck. He was booed
in Baltimore. In Syracuse one day.
the rival team let out a black cat from
their dugout as Jackie walked up to
bat. Jackie got mad and hit a triple
with with tibet bases loaded. By the
time the season ended, his doctor told
him that he was on the verge of a
nervous breakdown, but nobody
would have guessed it by looking at
his record. Second Baseman Robin
son led the International League in
batting with .985 average) and in
fielding with a .985 average.) Mon
treal won the pennant, and the fans.
after one game, chaired Jackie Robin
son was ready for the Dodgers.
Dos and Don'fs. Montreal had been
won over, but that cut no ice in Flat
bush. Branch Hickey, who knows his
fellow citizens, set out to soften them
up. He organized a group of Brook
lny's leading Negro citizens. includ-
ing n judge, into a formal how-to-
handle Robinson committee" In every
other city in the National League, Ric-
key set up similar committees. The
Brooklyn committee drew up a list of
dos and don'ts a yard long; Jackie's
department in public and private was
/ to be supervised as thoroughly as
Princess Elizabeth's.
He could not, like other ballplayers.
endorse breakfast foods Cor any other
product, for that matter) at the usual
$1,000 per endorsement. He could
sign his name I ono magazine or news.
paper articles. When he got what he
oone.JaraI LII Jo.:o~ g. IL.
umpire, he was not to object. When
another player insulted him, he was
to grin and bear it, He had to leave
the ballpark after games by a secret
exit. 1t was as important to avoid
adulation as it was to avoid brickbats
there were to be no Jackie Robinson
Days at Ebbets Field. He was not tc
accept any social invitations, from
whites or blacks, and he was to stay
away from night spots.
Jackie Robinson had already learn
ed, by. a lifetime's practice, the lessor
another Robinson-soft-shoe dancin,
Bo-jangles-once laid down while ac.
ing as the unofficial Mayor Of Harlem
, Bo-jangles' formula: do the best VOL
can with what you've got-and ge
along with the white folks" Jackie
had no desire TO be a martyr for hi;
race; he was just a young fellow anx
ious to make a living as a balIplayer
Though he barely knew Joe Louis. ht
sought him out for advice. He got ar
earful which boiled down to tire;
words: Don't get cocky."
Jackie lives a longway from Har
lens high life, in a five-room, second
floor flat on Brooklyn's McDonough
Street, in a Negro neighborhood. Hi-
name is not on the door, and he
knows few Of his neighbers. How he
feels about them shows through the
guarded brevity of his speech, which
sometimes carries a suggestion Of dry
ness. Says he: Il don't want to bother
with too many people who want to
be my relatives
Jackie's idea of a fine way to spend
a night off is TO go bed early. He
averages ten hours sleep. He likes
neither music nor dancing. 'You know
he says, ''colored people do not like
music and dancing any better than
white people-the white people just
think they do" AT home, he carefully