42 Faith by Ed Henry

Author:Ed Henry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2017-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

A NETWORK OF SUPPORT

Throughout the season, telegrams and letters poured in to Robinson from people all across America—white and black—telling him there was a prayer army out there rooting him on.

“I’ve kept close to my radio, and prayers,” Mrs. Bernice Franklin of Tyronza, Arkansas, wrote Robinson on August 20, 1947, according to one of the many letters now kept in files at the Library of Congress.15

Wrote Harold MacDowell of Newark, New Jersey: “I pray that you will be granted the fullest measure of courage and good judgment—and I’m not normally a praying man.”16

Then there was a moving letter from a Catholic priest in Harlem, New York. “This parish is one of eight Catholic parishes in Harlem,” wrote the Reverend John F. Curran. “We are eager to impress upon our youngsters the fact that if you have what it takes ultimately you will be recognized. You know all too well the difficulties besetting the way of life of the Negro; and we are all so extremely proud of you and your accomplishments in the face of almost insurmountable odds.”

Curran added a beautiful biblical reference: “The responsibility resting on the shoulders of him who would dare to be a Daniel would be tremendous.”

Then the priest noted that beyond his talents on the field, Robinson clearly had gifts from God to endure the pressure of being the first African American major leaguer. “He would have to be little short of superman,” wrote Curran. “He would have to be able to take what would be dumped . . . on him, come thru [sic] it unscathed, unmarked, smiling, the better man for it, and by sheer force of personal integrity and gentlemanly demeanor make those who had come to mock stay to praise.”

“Thank God,” Curran added, “you have what it took and takes.”

The priest wrote that young people “with faces aglow in the rising sun of a new day” could now thank Robinson for showing them anyone in America can succeed, regardless of race. “You have made our youth realize that only the best can survive; and that best can even be embellished by cleanness in life at home and at work,” wrote Curran.

“God spare you many years to your wife and family,” he told Robinson. “May you continue further to inspire our youth to bigger, better and greater things in all fields of endeavor,” Curran concluded, signing the letter “sincerely in Christ.”17

Other fans urged Robinson not to lose his temper amid the taunts. On May 9, 1947, Eugene Carey—a deputy sheriff from Detroit who apparently knew Rickey—sent some encouragement to Robinson about the jeering that he faced.

“I read about the bench riding you are getting from opposing players,” wrote Carey. “But Jackie, I know you can take it. You are made of that kind of ‘stuff.’ They are calling you vulgar names and using abusive language, thinking that it might cause you to loose [sic] your temper and ‘blow your top.’ This would affect your playing and hitting.”18

Even Frank Sinatra was keeping close tabs on Robinson’s history-making first season.

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