A Great Leap Forward: Jackie Robinson and The View From Montreal

Early days with the Montreal Royals. March 6, 1946. (Courtesy of Rachel Robinson and the Estate of Jackie Robinson)

 

On Tuesday, October 23, 1945, 15 of Montreal’s sportswriters and broadcasters were invited to a press conference at the home of the Montreal Royals, Delorimier Stadium, and were promised “a major announcement.” The Triple-A International League regular-season champions had recently been eliminated in the playoffs by the second-place Newark Bears, but had a great record of 95-58 with tremendous support of up to 22,000 fans a game.

None of the sportswriters had any inkling of what the Royals were about to announce, so there was much speculation and rumor that either Babe Ruth was about to be introduced as the new Royals manager or that as reported by Harold Adkins of the Montreal Star, Montreal was about to be awarded a major-league franchise, rumored to be the Philadelphia Phillies.1 The Royals needed a new manager as incumbent Bruno Betzel, in a salary dispute with the Royals, had left for the Jersey City Giants. Dink Carroll, longtime Montreal Gazette sports editor, said: “We’d heard that the Royals were going to announce they’d hired Babe Ruth to manage. That would have been one helluva story. What awaited us was one helluva different story.”2

Montreal was Canada’s largest city in 1945, its metropolis and industrial heartland, and Montrealers were proud of their country’s great effort during the long War of 1939-45, the city’s NHL Montreal Canadiens, and their baseball team. With a population of around one million, almost 80 percent of French background, Montreal was the world’s second largest French-speaking city after only Paris. The Royals had actually outdrawn several major-league clubs in 1945 including the Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and Philadelphia Phillies, the last two teams by over 100,000 fans, so the citizens and its sportswriters were of the opinion that a major-league team would see every success. As Royals general managers for many years would experience with their ballplayers, Montreal had an incredible and varied nightlife, with all-night speak-easies, casinos, and nightclubs, which at the time was rivaled in North America only by New York.

It was not to be either a major-league franchise, nor to name Babe Ruth as the new manager, but rather Royals club President Hector Racine, Vice President Romeo Gauvreau, and Dodgers farm system director Branch Rickey Jr. escorted in a muscular dark gentleman whom they introduced to the writers as Jack Roosevelt Robinson, the newest player to sign with the Royals. Racine announced, “Here is the newest member of the Brooklyn Dodger organization. Last year, he was the star shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs. He will have every opportunity to make the Royals for the upcoming season, 1946.”3

“There was no applause, and neither were there hostile outbursts. I’d sum up the reporters’ approach in two words: belligerent neutrality,” said Montreal Herald sportswriter Al Parsley.4

A stunned silence, then the reporters surged to the phones to call in the headline to their papers and radio stations. Robinson and the Royals’ directors posed as the ceremonial signing was photographed for posterity. Robinson stated: “Of course, I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that I am the first member of my race in Organized Baseball. I can only say that I’ll do my best to come through in every manner.”5

Dink Carroll added: “I wouldn’t say he turned all the pagans into Christians then and there.”6 Lloyd McGowan of the Star said there was no need for Jackie Robinson in baseball, “but Robinson made a more than decent start. I know some were impressed just by the clarity of his diction.”6

Branch Rickey had planned to keep the signing of Jackie Robinson quiet until he could complete the signings of other Negro League players, among them catcher Roy Campanella and pitchers Don Newcombe, Roy Partlow, and John Wright. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia of New York City, in an election battle, came out with the proposal that the major leagues become integrated. La Guardia urged that New York teams announce they would indeed begin to sign Negro players. Rickey immediately contacted Robinson and arranged for him to fly to Montreal for the Royals team announcement.7

As could have been expected, reaction was mixed, with International League President Frank “Shag” Shaughnessy stating: “As long as any fellow’s the right type and can make good and get along with other players, he can play ball.”8 Shag, although born in Illinois, was a Montreal resident from soon after his playing days in major-league ball (1905-1908), and had managed the Royals from 1932 to 1934.

Others were not so supportive. Herb Pennock, general manager of the Phillies, said he would accept integration as long as Jackie didn’t come play in Philadelphia.9 It would appear the expression “Not in my back yard” was as prevalent back in the 1940s.

T.Y. Baird, president of the Negro Leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs, claimed that Robinson was the property of the Monarchs, but Rickey countered by stating that the Negro leagues weren’t a part of Organized Baseball and did not offer legal contracts to its players.10 Rickey was diligent in insisting that in all his contracts with former Negro Leagues players, there was a clause indicating that the player was not under a legal contract with another team.

Cleveland Indians ace pitcher Bob Feller opined that Robinson wasn’t good enough to play in the major leagues because his upper body was too muscular and would tie up his swing.11 In a twist of fate, Feller and Robinson would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame together in 1962.

 

The New York Daily News stated that although it was in favor of the integration of baseball, it felt Robinson had just a 1,000-to-1 chance of his making it.12 The Sporting News added, “If Jackie Robinson was white, the best he would be offered would be a tryout in B level in the minors if he was 6 years younger.”13

Racine said that Jackie came very highly recommended by Dodgers management, and that was enough for him. He added that the signing of Robinson was “a point of fairness.”14 Branch Rickey Jr. told reporters, “Undoubtedly, we will be criticized in some sections where racial prejudice is rampant,” and added that the Dodgers were “not inviting trouble, but they won’t avoid it if it comes.” He then said that “some players might want to quit” than play with Black players, but suggested, “They’ll be back in baseball after they work a year or two in a cotton mill.” He added, “Jackie Robinson is a fine type of young man – intelligent and college-bred, and I think he can take it too.”15

In Robinson’s autobiography I Never Had It Made, he remembered Rickey Jr.’s comment as “I think he can make it, too.” He continued: “I realize how much it means to me, to my race, and to baseball. I can only say I’ll do my very best to come through in every manner.”16

The reaction in Canada to the Robinson signing was generally positive. Paul Parizeau of the newspaper Le Canada wrote that he felt proud that Rickey believed Robinson would be better received in Montreal than in the United States, and that this showed that Montreal was the most democratic city in the world.17

Robinson didn’t stay long in Montreal on his first visit. He flew to New York the next day to join a barnstorming tour.

In December 1945 Rickey announced that the Royals’ new manager would be Clay Hopper, a 44-year-old Mississippian. Gazette writer Baz O’Meara reported, “Hopper is a gent with a drawl from the deep South, and he is going to have to handle Jackie Robinson.”18 Hopper later pleaded with Rickey to send Robinson elsewhere, saying that managing Robinson would force him to move his family and home out of Mississippi. On a later occasion, when Rickey described a Robinson catch as a “superhuman play,” Hopper reportedly replied, “Mr. Rickey, do you really think a ni**er’s a human being?”19

One would think that Hopper would be a strange choice for the meticulous Rickey to make, but events would show that Rickey had chosen wisely. Rickey had first offered a managerial position to Hopper in 1929, when Clay was only 27, and had appreciated Hopper’s leadership qualities. These qualities were to be tested in 1946.

One of the first questions Branch Rickey asked Robinson at their historic meeting on August 28, 1945, was “You got a girl?” Robinson told Rickey of his engagement to the lovely and intelligent Rachel Isum, a graduate nurse back in Los Angeles. Branch replied: “You know you have a girl. When we get through today you may want to call her up because there are times when a man needs a woman by his side.”20 Rickey could not have been more right in his judgment. Rachel later said that Rickey had warned of trials to come, and that Branch was shrewd in business and thoughtful in personal relationships.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson and Rachel Isum were married on February 10, 1946, in Los Angeles. Two weeks later, they set out on a cross-country trip to the Royals’ spring-training site in Daytona Beach, Florida. Rachel said they were particularly concerned about arriving on time and ready for work, and that they “were all too familiar with the racial stereotype widely believed by whites and too often acted out by blacks.”21

Their troubles began almost as soon as their plane landed in New Orleans, where they were informed that they had been bumped from the next leg of their flight, and that there were no more flights that night. After a night in a seedy hotel, they flew on to Pensacola, Florida, where they were bumped once more. Forced to continue in a segregated bus, they finally arrived 16 hours later, days late, and were met by Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Wendell Smith and photographer Billy Rowe, who had been hired by Rickey to escort them around during spring training. Rickey had arranged lodging in the local Negro community, apart from the other Royals.

When spring-training games began, the Royals were locked out in Jacksonville and Deland, and run out of the ballpark in Sanford solely due to the presence of Robinson and his Black teammate, pitcher John Wright. Rachel Robinson said, “… these events took their toll on Jack and that he began to try too hard to win a permanent place on the team as rookies could be cut before the end of training camp. He was over-swinging and having difficulty sleeping and concentrating.” His arm troubles had necessitated a change of position from shortstop, which he had played for the Kansas City Monarchs, to second base and then first. She added, “He went into a slump, that mysterious ailment that plagues even the best ballplayers, but towards the end of camp Jackie broke out, began hitting and made the team.”22

There was a way to go yet as New York World Telegram writer Dan Daniel wrote as early as March 6, two days after Robinson’s arrival, that he wasn’t of International League caliber. La Presse added on March 7: “It is perhaps too early to tell, but we are of the impression that Robinson won’t be with the Royals this season.”23 This was before Robinson and Wright had even played a game; they weren’t inserted into the lineup until March 17. The Royals management had had enough of the Florida municipalities’ feeble excuses for canceling games, Racine announced: “This will be all or nothing for us. Robinson and Wright will play, or there will be no games”; in this he was backed up by Hopper. General manager Mel Jones went even further: “We don’t care if we fail to play another single exhibition game. If they don’t want to play us with our full team, they can pull out of the games.”24 The Royals backed up their tough talk by moving a game from Deland to Daytona Beach, and the four games the Royals were to play on their way north to start the season were all canceled.

On April 5 the Royals played the Indianapolis Indians and their experienced longtime major-league pitcher, Paul Derringer. Derringer proceeded to give Robinson the star-player treatment, by throwing hard inside and knocking Robinson down twice, with the batter responding each time with first a single, then a triple. Derringer spoke to Hopper after the game and told him that Robinson had passed the test: “Clay, your colored boy is going to do all right.”25

Wendell Smith wrote in the Pittsburgh Courier on April 6, that both Wright and Robinson had made the team, despite no official confirmation. The Royals game in Sanford the next day was interrupted by the police chief, who insisted that Robinson be removed from the field, citing a municipal law prohibiting mixed sports. Robinson had already singled, stolen a base, and scored a run. Robinson was back in the lineup the next day and hit a triple, walked, and scored two runs against Jersey City.

On April 8 the Royals assigned Lou Rochelli, the other presumptive second baseman, to the St. Paul (Minnesota) Saints of the American Association. Of Rochelli, Robinson wrote in his biography: “The generosity and friendship of a white team-mate in the early days with Montreal is a fond memory,” and added that Rochelli, despite competing with Robinson for the second-sacker spot, “spent a lot of time helping me, and teaching the techniques needed to be a competent second baseman.”26 Royals shortstop Stan Breard, a popular native Montrealer, was also a great supporter of Robinson. When a groundball took a bad hop and struck Robinson in the face, Breard ran over to make sure his teammate was uninjured.

As for Hopper, all agreed that he treated both Robinson and Wright fairly. He never spoke out against Rickey’s great experiment and supported the Royals’ stance when visiting other Florida cities. When the Royals returned to Montreal, Hopper was speaking glowingly of Robinson, calling him “a regular fella and a regular member of my baseball club”27 and regaled the sportswriters with tales of Robinson’s fielding and baserunning prowess. When the Star ran an Opening Day layout picturing Abraham Lincoln surrounded by Rickey, Racine, Robinson, and Hopper, the Southerner asked for an original for his home in Mississippi.28

At the end of spring training, the Montreal-Matin announced that Robinson had made the Royals and a starting spot at second base after “his truly sensational record in spring training.”29 This was clearly hyperbole, as his arm injury, sleepless nights and constant harassment from the stands would easily explain his rather mundane statistics: a .280 batting average, including two doubles and two triples, seven walks, and five stolen bases.

Wright’s pitching statistics were worse, but he had thrown only 10 innings, compared with several other Royals pitchers who had over 30 innings under their belt. According to Robinson, “[E]very time he stepped out there he seemed to lose that fineness and he tried a little bit harder than he was capable of playing.”30 After Wright’s last appearance in spring training, Wendell Smith reported that “he was wilder than an Egyptian Zebra”31. Years later, superscout Clyde Sukeforth said the Dodgers did not expect great things from Wright, but were of the opinion he would be a good companion for Robinson.32

On Opening Day there was great anticipation in the stands as 52,000 raucous fans filled the over-capacity Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City. Rachel was so nervous that she couldn’t sit down. In Jackie’s second at-bat, in the third inning, the Giants were expecting a bunt with two runners on base, but Robinson hit a three-run homer over the left-field wall for a 5-0 Royals lead. Robinson was welcomed as he crossed home plate by the next hitter, outfielder George “Shotgun” Shuba. Shotgun reached out and shook Jackie’s hand to congratulate him, and the crowd roared. As he made his way back to the dugout, his teammates showed their appreciation. Jackie said, “this was the day that the dam broke between my teammates and myself. Southerners or Northerners, they let me know they appreciated what I did.”33

La Patrie said it all in a banner headline in the sports section: “Robinson Plays the Role of Hero.”34 That was echoed by the Courier, whose headline was “Jackie Stole the Show.”35 Robinson had a 4-for-5 day with the home run, three singles, four RBIs, four runs scored and a fielding error. At the end of the game, fans swarmed the field to congratulate Robinson, shaking his hand and getting his autograph.

It was not an easy schedule for the Royals. After the Jersey City series, which they won two games to one, they moved on to Newark, Syracuse, and Baltimore. With the exception of Baltimore, Syracuse proved to be the most inhospitable to Robinson and Wright. In Syracuse, while Jackie was in the on-deck circle, a Syracuse player pushed a black cat on the field and yelled at Robinson: “Hey, Jackie, here’s your cousin clowning on the field.” The umpire ordered the Syracuse bench to behave.36

Baltimore was to be the real test for the great experiment. International League President Shag Shaughnessy had beseeched Rickey: “Don’t let that colored boy go to Baltimore. There’s a lot of trouble brewing there.” Rickey replied: “We solve nothing by backing away.”37

On a freezing cold Saturday night in late April, the few fans who showed up in Baltimore hurled awful racial abuse, so much that Rachel Robinson later commented that the Baltimore fans “engaged in the worst kind of name-calling and attacks on Jackie that I had to sit through.”38 Robinson was nervous and tentative the first three games in Baltimore, with only two hits in 10 at-bats and two errors in the field. On Monday night, he made up for his earlier performance with three hits in three at-bats and four runs scored. Baltimore pitcher Paul Calvert, a Montreal native and a former Royal, plunked Robinson on the wrist after his hitting performance.

Although the Royals had only a 6-6 record after this grueling road trip to start the season, Robinson was batting .372 with 17 runs scored and 8 stolen bases.

May 1, 1946, was a bright and sunny home opener at Delorimier Stadium for the Royals against Jersey City. Jackie Robinson was the center of attention. The Star noted: “The fans appreciated what they saw: One of the great athletes of our time, of any time, had all the tools to be a very good baseball player.”39 Sam Lacy wrote that the “applause for Robinson made the fences shake”40 and Charles Mayer of the Petit-Journal stated that the ovation for Robinson was the greatest ever given to a Royals player.41

Still bandaged on his wrist and sore from the hit-by-pitch in Baltimore, Robinson did not have as explosive a game as in his debut against Jersey City. He had a single, a walk, and a run scored in a 12-9 victory for the Royals. The fans mobbed him after the game, and he had to be escorted out of the ballpark by two policemen through a side door. Rachel Robinson returned the affection by sitting at a table and signing autographs in front of the main gate.

There were still skeptics as recounted by Phil Seguin of La Patrie: “Jackie Robinson didn’t impress yesterday. In the field he looked weak on balls hit to his right and at bat he hit the ball out of the infield only once, and was caught stealing second base.”42 Baz O’Meara of the Star wrote on May 16: “Most observers believe that, in a month or so, Robinson will not be hitting with any degree of consistency.”43

In the meantime, the Robinsons had to find a place to live in Montreal. Rachel was provided with a list of rental apartments by the Royals but worried that they would have a hard time renting an apartment in the city. But she was warmly greeted by the landlady at 8232 De Gaspe Street, her first choice, and was invited inside for tea, where they agreed on renting the apartment. When it became known in the French-speaking neighborhood that the Robinsons were expecting their first child, neighbors carried Rachel’s groceries for her while the women helped her make maternity clothes and gave her ration cards, exhorting her to eat more meat. The experience in Montreal was “almost blissful,” Rachel later remarked. Speaking of Rachel Robinson being a rock to her husband, Lula Jones Garrett, a reporter for the Baltimore African-American, said: “The only person I know who can equal her is that first citizen of the world, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.”44

Rachel Robinson’s fortitude was to be tested as her husband began to show signs of exhaustion in midseason. The constant pressure caused him to have insomnia and limited his appetite. A doctor advised rest away from the ballpark, and Clay Hopper tried to give him more time off as the season progressed. Rachel had her own challenges as she was pregnant with Jackie Jr. and had to visit doctors regularly, even experiencing old-time medicine as a doctor refused to perform a procedure on her without her husband’s permission.

By the end of May, the Royals had improved to 27-11 and had climbed into first place in the International League. Robinson was leading the league in hitting at .356, in hits with 47, and in runs scored with 38.

Robinson missed a week of games due to a leg injury, returning on June 7 in a victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He then missed games against Baltimore and the entire series against Jersey City. He tried to play on June 12 against Jersey City, but withdrew after five innings. On Sunday, June 16, after 19 straight days on the road, the Royals drew 20,086 fans and split a doubleheader against the Syracuse Chiefs with Robinson still absent. He returned to action on June 21, in the first game of yet another doubleheader against Newark. On June 24, the holiday of Quebec’s patron saint, John the Baptist, Roy Partlow threw a five-hitter against the Jersey Giants in a Royals victory, becoming the first Black pitcher to officially record a win in White Organized Baseball in the twentieth century. Robinson chipped in with two hits, one RBI, and five assists from second base.

Al Parsley of the Herald reported that the Royals now had a second Black star, a “dark wizard” who threw lefty with great velocity.45 On Tuesday, June 25, Robinson had a double and two singles in a win over Jersey City, and the Royals now counted nine players hitting .300 or higher. Bruno Betzel, the manager of the Jersey City Giants, was on hand at Delorimier Stadium to see the Royals raise the 1945 pennant, when he had been the Montreal manager. He took the opportunity to state that as a manager he would have liked to have nine Jackie Robinsons on his team.46 Another positive for the Royals was the return of star local pitcher Jean-Pierre Roy, who had won 25 games for the Royals in 1945, and picked up his first win on Thursday, June 27.

In ending June, the Royals split a doubleheader against Rochester with Robinson having three hits and three runs scored amid a great show of support from the fans. Danny Murtaugh of the Red Wings, later a major-league player and manager, tripped up Robinson in the first game, and was soundly booed the rest of the day. For the month, in which he was injured more than half the time, Jackie hit .319 with 12 runs scored, 7 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases.

The Royals had played their first 30 home games before 214,352 spectators, already 55,000 more than the previous year. Montreal, with Robinson the star attraction, was also drawing record crowds on the road. Rochester had 14,140 fans for the first two games against the Montrealers, compared with only 2,478 the previous year, and in Syracuse the first visit of the Royals drew an all-time record attendance for a weeknight game.

Sam Maltin of the Montreal Herald, who also reported for the Courier, said there was no doubt that Robinson’s popularity was the main reason for the increase in ticket sales: “Jackie was regularly surrounded by admirers on this streetcar ride back home, some fans even following him to the door to get an autograph.” Maltin continued: “In restaurants, Jackie’s meal became cold as he was so busy signing autographs”47 Quebec actor Marcel Sabourin, who crossed paths on the streetcar with Robinson, stated: “Instantly he became our idol. His photos filled our scrapbooks, and in the alleys all the youngsters playing ball wanted to be Jackie Robinson.”48

Due to rainouts, the Royals had a demanding start to July with 11 games in seven days in three cities. They won nine, stretching their lead to 10½ games atop the standings. After this marathon, the parent Dodgers came to Quebec for two games over the major-league All-Star break against their Quebec farm teams. The Dodgers pounded the Class-C Trois Rivieres Royals, 6-2 on July 8, before facing the Montrealers the next day. Le Canada’s Paul Parizeau wondered if this wasn’t a good opportunity for the Rickey-Durocher tandem to evaluate the Royals players with late-season call-ups in mind. In 1945, despite a promise by Rickey, the Dodgers had called up two of the Royals’ best players, and many fans and reporters thought that this had deprived the Royals of a possible Little World Series berth. Parizeau wrote that they had taken Montreal fans for “suckers” and this should not happen again in 1946.49 After the Dodgers broke out to a 4-0 lead, the Royals fought back to tie the game at 5-5, but the game was called so that the Dodgers could catch a night train to Chicago. Many of the 16,168 spectators booed the decision and threw seat cushions onto the field.

In mid-July the Royals headed out on a three-week road trip and visited all the other seven teams in the league. They also sent the disappointing Roy Partlow back down to the Trois Rivieres Royals. Unlike John Wright before him, Partlow did not take the demotion well. Wendell Smith said: “Partlow is acting like a spoiled child, he should think less of himself and more about the 14 million African-Americans from one ocean to the other who wanted him to succeed in white baseball.”50

On Wednesday, July 17, the Royals swept two from Rochester, swatting 28 hits. On Sunday the 21st, they swept the Syracuse Chiefs in yet another doubleheader. Robinson knocked four hits in eight at-bats, including his second homer of the campaign. On the 24th, Jackie bunted for a hit and scored after the throw to first base rolled down the right-field line. Robinson also made an error in this game, his first in 58 games.

While the Royals were on this long road trip, the Montreal (formerly Pittsburgh) Crawfords of the United States Negro Baseball League split a doubleheader at Delorimier Stadium with the Brooklyn Black Dodgers.51

During the Syracuse doubleheader, La Presse reported, Robinson had the 10,000 fans laughing as he bunted for a hit, running so swiftly that he lost his cap and a shoe while running to first base. He quickly put the shoe back on and promptly stole second base.52 On Friday, July 26, Robinson was the star for the Royals with three hits, including a homer, as Montreal edged Baltimore, 10-9.

The Royals continued to draw well on the road, and while splitting a doubleheader with Baltimore on July 28, the Orioles drew 26,038 to run their season total to 378,336 fans, an all-time league record. The Royals, wracked by a flu bug that caused five players to miss the last game, moved on to Newark. Although it did not show in his on-field performance, The Sporting News noted that “the stress continued to mount on Robinson.”53

Nevertheless, Robinson dived to rob Newark’s Yogi Berra of a bases-loaded two-out hit in the first game.

On August 9 La Presse eulogized the ballplayer: “Jackie Robinson will possibly move on to the Brooklyn Dodgers next year to create a precedent in the history of baseball. Yesterday, once again, Robinson showed his value to the team by smashing a hard-hit double to right field in the 10th inning to drive in the winning run in a 3-2 Royals victory.”54

August began with a loss in Jersey City, in which Robinson had two hits. The teams split a doubleheader the next day with Robinson going 1-for-3 in the first game before sitting out the later game.

Returning home for another doubleheader on August 4 before 16,556 fans, the Royals swept two games from second-place Syracuse. La Presse noted that one couldn’t ignore the contribution of Robinson. In the first game he hit a sharp single, knocking in a run, and made a beautiful play in the field, and also pilfered his 32nd base. In the second game, he was even more brilliant, leaping two or three feet into the air to snare a hard-hit ball by Syracuse catcher Joe Just, and then driving in the winning run.55

On Monday the 5th, the Royals took the train north to Trois Rivieres for an exhibition match against the Class-C Royals, defeating the home squad, 8-1. Waiting with a warm welcome at the train station for Robinson were his former roommates, Partlow and Wright.56

Back in Montreal to face Syracuse, poor pitching and defense led to an 18-17 defeat at foggy Delorimier Stadium on Tuesday. La Patrie described the game as a poor imitation of the game of baseball. Robinson had five hits but it wasn’t enough for the Royals. They struck back against the Chiefs on Wednesday, 9-4, with Robinson again going 3-for-4, raising his season average to .367.

Robinson continued his hot streak against Jersey City on Thursday and La Presse’s headline said it all: “Jackie Robinson Gives Another Victory to Montreal.” The newspaper observed: “How to vaunt the merits and to highlight the real value of the popular colored player Jackie Robinson is actually an impossible task for a sportswriter without inventing a new dictionary.”57 Robinson added another three hits, including a triple, then daringly made a mad dash home on a shallow fly ball for the winning run. The Gazette’s Dink Carroll, who had been previously reserved in his praise of Jackie, added “There doesn’t seem to be anything he can’t do.”58

On August 9, the Royals defeated Jersey City, with Robinson again leading the way with a triple, double, single, and four RBIs. His hot streak now extended to 14 hits in his last 19 at-bats.

The Royals downed the Orioles 9-1 on Tuesday the 13th to improve their home record to 44-13, putting them 15 games ahead of the now second-place Buffalo Bisons. Robinson had two walks and two runs scored but was injured by a pitch to his biceps by Orioles hurler Stan West. Royals trainer Ernie Cook wrapped Robinson’s arm in ice between innings to limit swelling.

Robinson returned to play on Wednesday the 14th as the Royals won 2-1 against Baltimore’s Johnny Podgajny. After the game, Baltimore manager Alphonse Thomas told La Presse he was glad to be leaving Montreal, noting that the Orioles, despite being the highest paid team in the League, lacked fighting spirit and the desire to win against the first-place Royals.59

Fans at Delorimier Stadium certainly had their money’s worth on August 15 as the Royals and Newark Bears put on an unprecedented hitting display in a doubleheader, the Royals winning the first game, 21-6, and Newark taking the nightcap, 12-2. In the first game Robinson, who was leading the league in batting, went 3-for-3 with four runs scored. He added another single and run scored in the second game. He kept pace with Newark’s top entry for the batting championship, Al Clark, who had five hits in the twin bill.

After a rainout on Friday the 16th, the Royals and Bears split a doubleheader Saturday at Delorimier. Robinson went only 1-for-8 with two RBIs, dropping his average below .370.

The Royals hosted Toronto on Tuesday, August 20, downing the visitors 6-5 with Robinson chipping in a single, triple, and two RBIs. On the 21st, in a 6-2 win, Jackie had two hits and two stolen bases, and went from first to third on a sacrifice bunt. Lloyd McGowan of the Star commented: “All pitchers, whether right-handed or south-paws, have looked pretty much alike to Robby in recent games. He can hit the curve, and while a natural right-handed pull-hitter, he can powder the ball to all fields, and has proved he can hit behind the runner.”60 La Presse added: “Jackie demonstrated once again his speed in stealing two bases to run his season total to 35.”61

Of the Royals’ next series, against the Bisons in Buffalo, The Sporting News commented: “Robinson earned several ovations from Buffalo fandom, especially after pilfering home, and then turning an unassisted double play the following night.”62

On Sunday, August 25, against the Rochester Red Wings, the Royals won the nightcap, 4-2, behind Curt Davis to clinch the league regular-season title with 90 wins and a 19-game lead. Robinson went 1-for-9 in the doubleheader. He desperately needed some time off to mend from injuries and the tremendous stress he had been under during this breakthrough season. Clay Hopper obliged, granting a few days off. Newsweek quoted him as saying, “Robinson is a player who must go to the majors. He’s a big-league ballplayer, a good team hustler, and a real gentleman.”63 This was quite the turnaround of opinion from before spring training.

Robinson was listed by La Presse as out with a leg injury on August 26 as the Royals lost to the Red Wings.

Montreal moved on to Toronto for a doubleheader on Thursday, August 29. Reporters quizzed Montreal general manager Mel Jones, who had to quash rumors that Robinson would be heading to the Dodgers before season’s end: “He’s passed the test here, and he shouldn’t have to go through that again in the big leagues,” Jones told the Gazette’s Lloyd McGowan.64 Montreal swept the doubleheader against the Maple Leafs, and while Robinson was hitless in the first game, he rebounded with a single and a double and two runs scored in the second game.

The Royals split a doubleheader against Toronto on Friday. The Sporting News reported, “In the second game, Jackie Robinson, Negro infield star, was shifted to the hot corner, a station he is said to be ticketed for to play for Brooklyn next season.”65 On Saturday, August 31, the Royals downed the Maple Leafs, with Robinson contributing two hits, a run scored, and an RBI.

In August, he hit .366 with 10 doubles and 5 triples, had 6 stolen bases, and scored 33 runs as the Royals won 24 of 35 games.

Back on home turf at Delorimier Stadium at last on Sunday, September 1, the Royals swept Buffalo in a twin bill. The following day, Labor Day, over 27,000 fans were disappointed as their heroes were swept in yet another twin bill, the Bisons handing the Royals their first home doubleheader loss of the season. Robinson was 3-for-9 with two RBIs in the losses.

After an off-day on Tuesday, the Royals returned to action at home against the Red Wings on Wednesday, September 4, splitting the doubleheader, with Robinson 2-for-7 with two stolen bases and a run scored in the two games.

On that day the headline in La Presse read: “Brilliant Debut for Jackie Robinson at Third Base.” The article said, “The days of Cookie Lavagetto at third base for the Dodgers are numbered, as Jackie Robinson will certainly replace him next spring.”66

After two games at third base in which Robinson started a crisp double play, made a nice catch, stopped several grounders, and made accurate throws, Hopper told reporters, “He does everything well that we ask of him.”67

On Thursday, September 5, Robinson returned to second base in a loss to Rochester, then rested for a couple of games. On Sunday, September 8, the Royals played their 37th doubleheader of the season, accounting for not quite half of a full season’s 154 games.

The Royals attained their regular-season objective of 100 victories in the second game against the Maple Leafs. Robinson went 1-for-5 in the first game and 1-for 3 in the second game to clinch the batting title at .349, scoring a league-leading 113 runs (tied with Soup Campbell of Baltimore) with 40 stolen bases. He struck out only 27 times. He finished runner-up to Rackley in stolen bases.

Newark traveled to Delorimier Stadium for the playoff semifinal series, which commenced on Wednesday, September 11. Steve Nagy, Montreal’s ace with a season record of 17-4, started for the Royals and took a shutout into the ninth inning before fading as the Royals won 7-5. Robinson was the hitting star for the home team, going 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and three RBIs.

The next day the Royals needed a suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the ninth by Al Campanis to edge the Bears, 2-1. Robinson went 0-for-3 as Royals’ Glen Moulder and Duane Pillette of the Bears each allowed only five hits.

The series moved to Newark on Saturday and Sunday the 14th and 15th, and the Bears roared back with great pitching performances to twice edge the Royals. Robinson managed only a double in the latter game, knocking in Montreal’s sole run.

Branch Rickey was in the stands in Newark on Monday the 16th as Moulder again excelled in a 2-1 Royals win. Robinson drove in the winning run and went 1-for-4 as Montreal took a lead of three games to two in the series.

On Wednesday, September 18, back again in Delorimier Stadium, with the Bears leading 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Newark manager George Selkirk vehemently objected to a noncalled third strike on Royals first baseman Les Burge and was ejected along with three of his players. Given another life, Burge belted a full-count pitch for a homer to tie the game. Speedy outfielder Tom Tatum then singled, and catcher Herman Franks swatted a long double off the scoreboard as Tatum scurried around the bases and scored on a close play at home, just evading the tag by Berra. The walk-off win gave Montreal the series.

La Presse called the finale a “frenetic end of the game” and a reporter quoted a streetcar rider afterward as saying “A game like this one only happens every 25 years.”

After his 2-for-4 day with two runs scored, Robinson said, “George Selkirk came over and shook my hand and those of the other players and demonstrated complete class as a gentleman despite the tough loss and elimination of his team.68 Robinson hit .273 in the series.

Starting the next day, September 19, Montreal faced Syracuse in the Governor’s Cup series, for the International League championship.

The Royals came out flat at home and lost the first game, 5-0. The next day, they roared back to win 14-12 with the winning runs scoring on an inside-the-park three-run homer by reliever Chet Kehn in the eighth inning. Old-timer Curt Davis came on in the ninth for the save as Robinson contributed with a 2-for-4 day, a double, and two runs scored.

After a travel day on Saturday, at Syracuse on Sunday, September 22, the Royals dominated the Chiefs 11-1, behind a great pitching performance by Davis. Robinson went 1-for-5 in the win.

After two rainouts in Syracuse, the Royals triumphed 7-4 on September 25. Robinson went 1-for-3 with a run scored. The next day the Royals closed out the series at MacArthur Stadium four games to one with another 7-4 victory. Robinson was instrumental in the clinching win, with four hits in five at-bats, a run scored, two RBIs, and a stolen base. After the first-game shutout, he went 8-for-17 to help the Royals clinch their second Governor’s Cup final, with Robinson hitting .400 for the series.

Montreal then traveled south to Louisville, Kentucky, to face the American Association champion Colonels in the Junior World Series. Robinson had managed to withstand abuse throughout the season, but Louisville promised to raise the attacks to a higher level. Louisville outfielder John Welaj said of the Colonels fans: “They called him everything under the sun.”69 La Presse noted that while the Royals stayed at the Brown Hotel, Robinson had to stay in the home of a Black lawyer.

Louisville fans booed Robinson at every possible occasion, at bat or in the field. Colonels pitcher Otey Clark recalled, “I remember our pitcher Jim Wilson knocked him down, and the fans cheered. Robinson didn’t seem to pay attention to any of it.”70

Jackie struggled at bat with an 0-for-5 day in the first game on Saturday, September 28, the only time he was held hitless in five at-bats all season. The Royals struggled to a 7-5 win in the first game. The Colonels responded with a great two-hit shutout by right-hander Harry Dorish. Jackie went 0-for-2 with an error.

On Monday, September 30, the Colonels exploded for 19 hits in a 15-6 home-team win as Nagy was wild, and the relievers weren’t able to stem Louisville’s attack. Motorcycle policemen escorted the visitors in their taxis to the train station for the long train ride home to Montreal, with the Royals now down two games to one in the series.

Speaking of the treatment of Robinson by the local fans, Louisville outfielder George Bennington told a La Presse reporter on the trip to Montreal: “If I was in his place, I would have thrown my glove into the field and walked away from both the game and baseball. Robinson is truly extraordinary!”71 Campanis added, “Robinson hasn’t played well down here, but just wait until you see him in Montreal where the fans are his friends.”72

Only 14,685 fans showed up at Delorimier Stadium on a freezing and damp Wednesday night, as the Royals evened the series at two games. La Presse described the situation: “As much as Jackie Robinson was booed by Louisville fans during the previous three games, he was cheered last night as he hit a Texas-leaguer to drive in the winning run in the 10th inning.”73

In his autobiography My Own Story, Robinson described the home fans’ response: “We discovered the Canadians were up in arms over the way I had been treated. Greeting us warmly, the let us know how they felt. … All through that first game at home they booed every time a Louisville player came out of the dugout. I didn’t approve of this kind of retaliation, but I felt a jubilant sense of gratitude for the way Canadians expressed their feelings.”74

Montreal was trailing 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Royals loaded the bases and then tied the game to set the stage for Robinson in the 10th. He went 2-for-5, with a run scored and the game-winning RBI in the victory. Louisville had intentionally walked Marv Rackley, preferring to face Robinson with the winning run on third base.

The Royals were again led by Jackie on October 3, as he doubled and scored in the first inning, tripled and scored the eventual winning run in the seventh, and bunted for a single to score Campanis with an insurance run in the eighth in a 5-3 Royals victory before 17,758 fans.

On Friday, October 4, the Royals sent wily veteran Curt Davis to the mound in search of the championship. The 43-year-old Davis was masterful as he scattered nine hits in a tight 2-0 shutout. In the ninth inning he induced a double play started by Robinson, his second of the day, to preserve the shutout. Robinson also singled twice, the only player in the game with more than one hit.

After the final out, the Royals raced to the clubhouse as thousands of fans covered the field. Stadium staff and police could do nothing against the crowd of over 19,000 fans. Courier and Herald reporter Sam Maltin, who was also a great friend, described it thus: “Ushers and police couldn’t keep the crowd from the field. They refused to move and sang ‘Il a gagne ses epaulettes’ (He won his bars) and ‘We want Robinson.’ … Clay Hopper came out of the clubhouse and they … carried him around the field. … Curt Davis, who hurled the final victory, made his appearance and they carted him around. But there was no Robinson and they refused to move until he showed himself.

A delegation of ushers went to see Jackie and asked him to step out, so they could close the park and call it a season. Jackie came out and the crowd surged on him. Men and women of all ages threw their arms around him, kissed him, and tore at his clothes, and then carried him around the infield on their shoulders, shouting themselves hoarse.

Jackie, tears streaming down his face, tried to beg off further honors.75

In My Own Story, Robinson wrote, “When I at last got ready to leave the dressing room, the passageway was blocked with at least three hundred people. I couldn’t get out, and the ushers and police couldn’t break through and come to my rescue. Finally, I had to take a chance. I passed my bag to a friend, hunched my shoulders, and plunged smack into that throng.”76

Maltin carried on the story: “It was a demonstration seldom seen here. Again, the crowd started hugging and kissing him. He tried to explain that he had to catch a plane, but they wouldn’t listen, refused to hear him. They held on to him but – as he had done in his football days at UCLA – Robbie gently fought off his admirers and pushed his way through until he found an opening. Then he started running. The mob was running after him. Down the street he went, chased by five hundred fans. People opened windows and came pouring out of their houses to see what the commotion was about. For three blocks they chased him until a car drew up and someone shouted: ‘Jump in, Jackie,’ and they brought him safely to his hotel. It was probably the only day in history that a black man ran from a white mob with love instead of lynching on its mind.”77

At the airport the next morning, Robinson boarded a flight for Detroit to join a barnstorming tour and on the newsstand was the Le Canada newspaper with the headline “Royals Are Champions of the World” with a team photo, and individual photos of winning pitcher, and the fans’ favorite, Jackie Robinson.78

Robinson confided to reporter Wendell Smith, “As my plane roared skyward and the lights of Montreal twinkled and winkled in the distance, I took one last look at this great city where I had found so much happiness. I don’t care if I never get to the majors,” I told myself. “This is the city for me. This is paradise.”79

Rachel Robinson said, “In Jack’s book, he said he owes more to Canadians than they’ll ever know. We were passionately in love and brimming with the anticipation of starting a family. I will always feel a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for the attitudes of the people in Montreal. It had a lot to do with our future success.”80

 

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted the following:

Tygiel, Jules. Baseball’s Great Experiment (New York: Oxford, 1983).

Heaphy, Leslie. The Negro Leagues (Jefferson North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2003).

Simon, Scott. Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball (Hoboken New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, 2002).

Lowenfish, Lee. Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007).

Eig, Jonathan. Opening Day (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007).

 

Notes

1 Harold Adkins, Montreal Star, October 24, 1945.

2 Dink Carroll, Montreal Gazette, October 24, 1945.

3 La Presse, October 24, 1945.

4 Al Parsley, Montreal Herald, October 24, 1945.

5 La Presse, October 24, 1945.

6 Montreal Star, October 24, 1945.

7 John Thorn and Jules Tygiel, Jackie Robinson Reader, Jackie Robinson’s Signing (New York: Dutton, 1997), 90-92.

8 La Presse, October 24, 1945.

9 Marcel Dugas, Jackie Robinson, Un Été à Montréal (Montreal: Hurtubise, 2019), 48.

10 Daytona Beach Evening News, October 24, 1945.

11 “Bob Feller’s opinion,” in William Brown, Baseball’s Fabulous Montreal Royals (Montreal: Robert Davies, 1996), 95.

12 “A 1,000-to-1 chance,” New York Daily News, October 24, 1945.

13 “A tryout in B level,” The Sporting News, November 1, 1945.

14 La Presse, October 24, 1945.

15 Montreal Gazette, October 24, 1945.

16 Jackie Robinson and Alfred Duckett, I Never Had It Made (New York: Putnam, 1972), 35.

17 Paul Parizeau, Le Canada, October 24, 1945.

18 Baz O’Meara, Montreal Star, December 10, 1945.

19 Carl T. Rowan and Jackie Robinson, Wait Till Next Year (New York: Random House 1960), 145.

20 Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait (New York: Harry Abrams Inc., 1996), 37.

21 Rachel Robinson, 46.

22 Rachel Robinson, 52.

23 La Presse, March 7, 1946.

24 Lee Lowenfish, The Imperfect Diamond: A History of Baseball’s Labor Wars (New York: Da Capo Press, 1991), 147-152.

25 New York World Telegram and Sun, February 2, 1957.

26 I Never Had It Made, 50–51.

27 Montreal Gazette, April 20, 1946.

28 Montreal Star, April 19, 1946.

29 Montreal Matin, April 20, 1946.

30 Robert Peterson, Only the Ball Was White (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 196.

31 Wendell Smith, Pittsburgh Courier, April 13, 1946.

32 Clyde Sukeforth, Montreal Gazette, March 6, 1946.

33 La Presse, April 20, 1946.

34 La Patrie, April 20, 1946.

35 Pittsburgh Courier, April 19, 1946.

36 Wait Till Next Year, 60.

37 Wait Till Next Year, 155-56.

38 Wait Till Next Year, 156.

39 Montreal Star, May 2, 1946.

40 Sam Lacy, Baltimore African-American, May 11, 1946.

41 Charles Mayer, Le Petit Journal, May 2, 1946.

42 Phil Seguin, La Patrie, May 2, 1946.

43 Baz O’Meara, Montreal Star, May 16, 1946.

44 Baltimore African-American, May 11, 1946.

45 Al Parsley, Montreal Herald, June 25, 1946.

46 Bruno Betzel, The Sporting News, September 11, 1946.

47 Sam Maltin, Montreal Herald; Jackie Robinson Reader, 117.

48 Marcel Sabourin, Un Été à Montréal, 110

49 Paul Parizeau, Le Canada, July 9, 1946.

50 Wendell Smith, Pittsburgh Courier, July 20, 1946.

51 La Presse, July 22, 1946.

52 La Presse, July 23, 1946.

53 The Sporting News, October 16, 1946.

54 La Presse, August 9, 1946.

55 La Presse, August 5, 1946.

56 La Presse, August 6, 1946.

57 La Presse, August 8, 1946.

58 Dink Carroll, Montreal Gazette, August 8, 1946.

59 Alphonse Thomas, La Presse, August 15, 1946.

60 Lloyd McGowan, Montreal Star, August 22, 1946.

61 La Presse, August 22, 1946.

62 The Sporting News, August 28, 1946.

63 Newsweek, August 26, 1946.

64 Lloyd McGowan and Mel Jones, Montreal Star, August 29, 1946.

65 The Sporting News, September 4, 1946.

66 La Presse, September 4, 1946.

67 Clay Hopper, La Presse, September 4, 1946.

68 La Presse, September 19, 1946.

69 Montreal Gazette, October 7, 1946.

70 Roger Kahn, Rickey & Robinson (New York: Rodale Inc., 2014), 218.

71 La Presse, October 3, 1946.

72 Al Campanis, Montreal Star, October 5, 1946.

73 La Presse, October 3, 1946.

74 Jackie Robinson and Wendell Smith, My Own Story (New York: Greenberg, 1948), 110.

75 Sam Maltin, Pittsburgh Courier, October 12, 1946.

76 My Own Story, 109.

77 Sam Maltin, Pittsburgh Courier, October 12, 1946.

78 Le Canada, October 5, 1946.

79 My Own Story, 110

80 Rachel Robinson to Patrick Sauer in Sauer, “The Year of Jackie Robinson’s Mutual Love Affair with Montreal,” Smithsonian, April 6, 2015. smithsonianmag.com/history/year-jackie.