American Hero by Sharon Robinson

Author:Sharon Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2013-01-19T05:00:00+00:00

At the start of the 1947 season, Major League Baseball was still segregated. On April 10, 1947, the Montreal Royals played the Brooklyn Dodgers in an exhibition game. After Jackie batted, the Dodgers offered to purchase his contract from the Montreal Royals. Jackie was handed his first number 42 Brooklyn uniform. He would be the first black player in the National League, one of two divisions in Major League Baseball.

Jackie signs his contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Not everyone was happy. In fact, a number of southern Dodgers players told Branch Rickey that they wouldn’t play with a black man. Mr. Rickey said that was fine. He’d be happy to trade them. Pitcher Kirby Higbe accepted the trade.

Jackie’s first official game with the Brooklyn franchise was April 15, 1947. He went hitless before a record crowd. Jackie recalled that he did a miserable job. He wrote, “There was an overflow crowd at Ebbets Field. If they expected any miracles out of Robinson, they were sadly disappointed.” Jackie’s slump deepened with only one base hit in the next four games.

Jackie’s teammates were chilly to him. A few backed him. Some were openly against him. Off the field, Jackie was a loner.

On April 22, the Dodgers started a three-game series with Philadelphia. Jackie was still in a slump. The Phillies players taunted and tortured Jackie throughout the first game. Later, Jackie wrote, “. . . this day, of all the unpleasant days in my life, brought me nearer to cracking up than I ever had been. . . . I felt tortured and I tried just to play ball and ignore the insults. But it was really getting to me.”

In Game Two of the Phillies series, one of Jackie’s teammates, Eddie Stanky, jumped to his defense. “Listen, you yellow-bellied cowards,” he yelled, “why don’t you yell at somebody who can answer back?”

The next time the Dodgers and Phillies met was in Philadelphia. The town made it clear that they didn’t want Jackie to show up. This time, some of the players greeted Jackie with bats pointed at him like they were machine guns.

Despite kicks, spikings, insults, physical attacks, and even death threats, Jackie grew stronger as a baseball player and as a man. Record crowds continued to fill stadiums across the country as Jackie turned his slump around and started to shine. Jackie’s relationships with his teammates improved. He and Duke Snider ate dinner together.

At a game in Boston, the taunts were loud and angry. The fans heckled Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese. Pee Wee ignored the crowd. He walked over to Jackie, put his hand on his shoulder, and began talking to him. The crowd was shocked into silence. Pee Wee and Jackie remained friends for life.

On July 3, 1947, the Cleveland Indians signed Larry Doby of the Newark Eagles. The American League now had its first black player!

By the end of 1947, Jackie Robinson led the Dodgers in runs scored, singles, bunt hits, total bases, and stolen bases. With a season batting average of .

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