The Robinsons in Montreal

“We didn’t feel like we belong with them.” — Lucille and Edgar Méthot, Jackie and Rachel Robinson’s neighbors in Montreal in 1946.

 

Lucille and Edgar Méthot were bundles of nerves the morning of Wednesday, September 3, 1986, waiting at the corner of DeLorimier and Ontario streets in Montreal. With some help from the Expos, the Méthots were meeting Rachel Robinson, who, with Jackie, lived next to them 40 years ago.

Jackie Robinson and his wife lived at 8232 DeGaspé Street, between Guizot and Jarry. That area is located in the northern part of the city, a predominantly French residential area. The Méthot family was at 8234 and shared a veranda with the brilliant Montreal Royals rookie. In fact, from that very veranda, the Méthot couple could see the flashy limos carrying Jackie’s friends stopping in front of their place. They still talk about the day Roy Campanella came in a long white car to visit the Royals’ second baseman.

The Méthots were often identified as the French-Canadian family that helped the Robinsons adapt to this new environment in 1946. Numerous Jackie Robinson stories praise the warm welcome and the moral support he got from Montrealers. And each time, their neighbors are mentioned as among the people who helped Jackie to keep it going, while he was breaking the color barrier of organized baseball in the International League.

“The Robinsons were real good people, humble, and they remained so, even after Jackie became a local star,” remembered Lucille Méthot. Her husband has another story to support it, as related by Lucille. “Edgar will never forget the day Jackie Robinson came back to Montreal to play in an All-Star game. He was determined to see Jackie, but they met one another in the middle of Ontario Street! Jackie was crossing the street with Campanella and after seeing Edgar, started running towards him in the middle of the street! The tramway almost run them down while they were embracing each other.”

After one season in Montreal, Jackie made the team in Brooklyn with the Dodgers. For three or four years, the wives did write to each other before distance and circumstances impeded. “The Robinsons were way too important. We didn’t feel like we belonged. That’s why I stopped writing” explained Lucille. It was quite a time for whites to admit that they didn’t feel up to par with blacks. But for the Méthots and other residents of the area where Jackie lived, there was no white or black. Just a great athlete and his wife.

“When I think about it, I don’t think there was racism here. I never heard of any difficulties that the Robinsons might have had in the neighborhood. People couldn’t care less about racism. They brought attention because their social standing was above ours. Financially, we felt they were at ease. We were impressed. Sometimes, they talked about coming back to Montreal. (I was so scared to see them back at home. You know, we are ordinary people. It’s rather modest here, at home),” Lucille says.

Lots of things were said and written about the Robinson’s adaptation to Montreal. It was said that their children were taken care of by neighbors so they could go out, that they had interpreters among the neighbors to help them in their daily tasks, etc. Nothing is further from the truth. “We were really the only ones to see them regularly. It was normal since we were living in the same building. I remember sewing part of a Rachel’s dress, when she was pregnant. The night, we were waiting for them to shake hands before going back in our apartment. Today, we think it was a little foolish to act this way, but we liked them,” Lucille relates.

After David’s birth, in Los Angeles, the Méthots got a telegram from Jackie the next day. They kept that telegram along with a ball signed by Jackie which reads: “To the Méthots, thanks for all.” That ball is not for sale, said Lucille, “not even for a million dollars!”

The Méthots will be remembered as simple people who were fortunate enough to live a great experience in the surroundings of one of the most influential athletes in the history of North American sports. The greatest moment of all came when the Méthots gave the Robinsons a laminated photo of the couple taken in front of the building where they lived. They remember the happiness felt then by the Robinsons.

“We only have good memories. We still see Jackie striding on the street, coming back home. We can see him back from the theater and telling us that he probably didn’t understand the movie in French. Jackie really enjoyed romantic movies. With his big black hands, he took our baby and rocked him in his arms. The sad thing is that we never took shots of these moments. Our son reproached us sometimes for this but we had no idea that it would become that significant,” Edgar recalls. He has one more regret in that he never asked Jackie for an autographed bat. ” I really thought about it, but I was too shy. Even today, I still can not forgive myself for that!”