Arkansas State press. [volume] (Little Rock, Ark.) 1941-1959, 1953-07-24
SPORTS Ct 0SE. up
BY Fritz Pollard

NEW YORK (Global)-It has been six years since
Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball
and in the interim number other Negroes have
the major leagues practically all of whom have become stars
This is not hard to understand Before they joined their
SpecVe clubs in the big show all of these players had had
wide experience players The competition they faced, in
many cases, good that they found in the major
leagues certainly it much better than any white rookie
faced in the minors For surely there many of the
minor league clubs that could the average club
in the Negro leagues
Even So despite the fact that Negroes have
good in the big show only six of the league clubs have
fit to use Negro players 1t hard understand why public
sentiment hasn't crystalized sufficiently effect break
through in the other clubs that includes Cincinnati
There are good Negro newspapers all these cities with able
editors and staffs
This especially in Detroit if the Yankees
argue they haven't hired Negro they have consist
emily had winning team and haven't been able to find Ne
capable of ousng any the teams regulars this certainly
cannot be Detros argument For that had only
26 games up last Saturday with its total
of 164 games than half the should play
anybody he get obvious the fact that Detroit
hasn't Negro player is not because doesn't need material
is also probably true that the the Yankees do not
have has nothing much do with material 1t should be
remembered that the Brooklyn Dodgers have for long time
had strong farm system and could easily have reached down
there for second baseman the time Branch Hickey sent
Jackie to Montreal which was the first step toward Ebbets
Field.
have frequently been critical of Branch Hickey, and
have times felt much credit given him for ntroduc
ing Jackie Robinson to major league spectators But the more
thinks about other clubs their refusal hire Negro
players, the he must rehink his position Hickey
True enough New York has excellent Fair Employment
law but neither St Louis Chicago has Yet find the
St Louis Browns and the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago
White SoX finding for Negro players.
For those who don't know it, the Chicago White Sox
with its park the South Side has always been fav
orte with Negroes Old Man Charles Comiskey the
first and for long time the only major league who
used Negro trainer The influence of Bill Veeck is response
bic for what happened Cleveland later ST. Louis The
Chicago Cubs always have been snooty perhaps
why Veeck squeezed out Notwithstanding the fact that
his father for years closely associated with the elder
Wrigley
The only clubs with Negro players the New York
Giants the Milwaukee Braves the Cleveland Indians the St
Louis Browns the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago White
The hod-ous the St Louis Cardinals the New York
Yankees the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds the
Chicago Cubs Philadelphia Philes the Philadelphia Ath
ecs the Washington Senator's and the Detroit Tigers.
The Negro press alert the many opportunities of
winning another victory should undertake to eliminate mcro
from organized baseball within "a reasonable time