Most
people, whether or not they are sports fans, are reasonably
familiar with the career highlights of Jackie Robinson.
Born in
1919, in Cairo, GA, and reared in Pasadena, CA, Robinson was
an outstanding all-around athlete (football, basketball, track
and baseball) in college, but had to withdraw from UCLA as a
junior, to help his mother care for the family.
After leaving
the Army in 1945, he played professional football in Hawaii,
and baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National
League.
On October
23, 1945, Robinson and pitcher John Wright, also black, were
signed by Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey, to play
on a Dodgers farm team, the Montreal Royals of the International
League. Jackie led that league in batting average in 1946, and
was brought into the majors in 1947--breaking the color line
for all time. The Sporting News named him rookie of the year
for 1947.
In 1949,
he won the batting championship with a .342 average, and was
voted the National League's most valuable player. He left baseball
in 1957, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
His health destroyed by diabetes, he died--too young--in 1972.
No doubt
about it, Robinson was an exceptional human being.
But, being
a fallible human, Jackie was involved in two somewhat unusual
incidents, occurring toward the end of his playing days. The
long defunct Look magazine figured into both of them.
In January
and February of 1955, Look published a series of interviews
with Robinson, in which he described his experiences as the
first man to integrate Major League Baseball. He was quoted
as follows:
"The
Sporting News of St. Louis, the national baseball weekly, said
that I only had enough ability to try out for a Brooklyn Class
B farm team--if I were six years younger and white. A year later,
The Sporting News presented me with its award for being, in
its opinion, the rookie of the year for 1947."
The only
problem with the quote is that The Sporting News denied ever
printing such a negative statement on Robinson, and even challenged
him to produce the reference--which he could never do.
Two years
later, on January 5, 1957, Jackie Robinson retired from baseball.
By all accounts,
he should never have even played during the 1956 season. But,
giving no indication to Dodgers management that he did intend
to retire, he was traded to the New York Giants, on December
13, 1956. Robinson feigned anger that he was not told about
the trade, but in reality, he had planned to retire, and already
had accepted a job offer from the Chock Full O' Nuts restaurant
chain in New York.
Although
he had been denying for weeks that he was going to retire, he
had been paid by Look for another article entitled "Why
I'm Quitting Baseball."
When this
was found out, Dodgers general manager Buzzy Bavasi became extremely
upset.
"Jackie
handled the whole thing in bush style. He denies to the newspaper
guys he's retiring, then takes money for saying he is."
Truly, an
unexpected ending to an otherwise exemplary career.