charlene
03-01-2011, 01:12 PM
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Baseball+great+home+away+from+hate/4362662/story.html
photos at link.
More Images » Robinson at his first game for the Montreal Royals in 1946.
Photograph by: File photo, File photoMONTREAL -
The end of Black History Month saw another lasting tribute to Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson and his time in Montreal.
The United States consulate general unveiled a commemorative plaque at the house where Robinson and his wife, Rachel, lived in 1946 when Robinson was with the Montreal Royals in the Class AAA International League - the year before he broke Major Leage Baseball's long-standing colour barrier as the first African-American player in the major leagues in the modern era.
"This is especially a special moment," said Sharon Robinson, the couple's daughter, who is vice-chairman of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. "I had never been to the home where my parents lived, so this is an emotional experience.
"My mother and father had such positive memories about their time in Montreal," she added. "To have it recognized where they lived in a neighbourhood that welcomed them and supported them then is quite emotional. It's such a beautiful plaque with such fullness to it. It doesn't just say 'Jackie Robinson lived here.' It really gives a little bit of history to it."
The home is located at 8232 de Gaspé Ave. in the city's Villeray area, ironically only a short walk from what was Jarry Park, where the Expos, Canada's first major league team, played from 1969 to 1976. The home is currently owned by Eric Boudreault and is undergoing minor renovations to its interior.
The plaque reads (in French as well): Hall of Fame baseball legend and civil rights leader Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson and wife, Rachel, lived in this house when he played with the Montreal Royals in the Class AAA International League in 1946. The first black Major League Baseball player in the modern era, Robinson became a powerful symbol of hope an inspiration to millions with his grace, dignity and determination.
In attendance at the unveiling, in addition to Sharon Robinson, were U.S. ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, Lee McClenny, the U.S. consul general in Montreal, Quebec Minister of Education, Leisure and Sport Line Beauchamp and Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay.
"I'm from Chicago, and baseball was a very important part of my life growing up, and this part of baseball was particularly important to everybody in the United States," Jacobson said. "So it's an honour to be here and to be able to celebrate this and in particular to be able to celebrate what the people of Montreal did and what they showed to Americans at a time when we weren't particularly as tolerant as we ought to have been."
Jackie Robinson made sports history as a member of the minor-league Royals, playing only one summer here. The native of Cairo, Ga., was scouted while playing in the negro leagues by Branch Rickey, club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey - whom Tremblay mistakenly referred to as "Mr. Reilly" in an otherwise stirring address of appreciation for the Robinsons during the ceremony - saw Robinson as the best candidate to challenge baseball's colour line which had existed since the 1880s.
In his first meeting with Rickey on Aug. 28, 1945, Robinson expressed shock at an offer to become what was referred to as "the noble experiment" and asked Rickey: "Are you looking for a negro who is afraid to fight back?" Rickey responded, saying he needed a negro player "with guts enough not to fight back."
Robinson then signed a contract for $600 a month (about $7,322 in today's dollars), according to published accounts, and played shortstop and second base for Royals who played at Delormier Stadium on Ontario St. E., near de Lormier Ave.
With the Royals that one season, Robinson led the International League with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage and was named the league MVP.
He was in Dodgers' uniform the following season to officially break Major League Baseball's colour barrier. And with it came the bitter taste of life as a black man playing baseball in a white man league.
The Robinsons were met with racism at every turn, with whites-only hotels, restaurants, washrooms, flights and even rival ballparks and the teams which occupied them. But it was a complete reversal of things here.
"When my father and mother were in Montreal, they were welcomed and the fans were great. It was a very positive experience," Sharon Robinson said. "When they were on the road, it was a completely different situation.
"There's one example when he was playing in Montreal when they were on the road in Syracuse (N.Y.) and one of the opposing players threw a black cat on the field and said, 'Hey Jackie, here's your cousin.'
"My father was very angry but he had an agreement (with Rickey) that he would not fight back with words or fists. So he hit a double and the next batter up brought him home and on his way past the dugout, he said to the guy who threw out the cat, 'I guess my cousin's happy now.'
"He had a way of sort of fighting back with his sort of aggressive style of play," she said. "And he just loved when he was going to steal a base or steal home and knew that it was going to be successful because that was his way of expressing and releasing some of the anger that he felt and also some of the joy he felt playing the game."
Rachel Robinson, 88, was not able to attend the ceremony, but in a letter to the Johnson and read during the ceremony, she expressed gratitude for how she and Jackie were treated here, a time when she also was pregnant with the couple's first child, Jackie Jr., who died in a car accident in 1971.
"I remember Montreal and that house very well and have always had warm feeling for that great city," she said. "Before Jack and I moved to Montreal, we had just been through some very rough treatment in the racially biased South during spring training in Florida.
"We were still shaken from that experience and didn't know what to expect in Montreal. We knew that this was a noble experiment sponsored by Branch Rickey to integrate Major League Baseball against serious opposition and Jack's shot at playing in the major leagues," she continued. "We couldn't afford to fail.
"In the end, Montreal was the perfect place for him to get his start. We never had a threatening or unpleasant experience there. The people were so welcoming and saw Jack as a player and as a man."
Robinson played 10 seasons in the major leagues, all with Brooklyn and he led the Dodgers to six pennants. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility, becoming the first African-American player enshrined. He died Oct. 24, 1972 in Stamford, Conn., at the age of 53 after complications brought on by heart disease and diabetes.
Robinson's impact on the game was so significant that Major League Baseball on April 15, 1997, ruled that no player - with the exception of active Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, who was wearing the number before the rule was made - will ever be allowed to wear his No. 42 again.
rphillips@montrealgazette.com
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Baseball+great+home+away+from+hate/4362662/story.html#ixzz1FMvvayZb
photos at link.
More Images » Robinson at his first game for the Montreal Royals in 1946.
Photograph by: File photo, File photoMONTREAL -
The end of Black History Month saw another lasting tribute to Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson and his time in Montreal.
The United States consulate general unveiled a commemorative plaque at the house where Robinson and his wife, Rachel, lived in 1946 when Robinson was with the Montreal Royals in the Class AAA International League - the year before he broke Major Leage Baseball's long-standing colour barrier as the first African-American player in the major leagues in the modern era.
"This is especially a special moment," said Sharon Robinson, the couple's daughter, who is vice-chairman of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. "I had never been to the home where my parents lived, so this is an emotional experience.
"My mother and father had such positive memories about their time in Montreal," she added. "To have it recognized where they lived in a neighbourhood that welcomed them and supported them then is quite emotional. It's such a beautiful plaque with such fullness to it. It doesn't just say 'Jackie Robinson lived here.' It really gives a little bit of history to it."
The home is located at 8232 de Gaspé Ave. in the city's Villeray area, ironically only a short walk from what was Jarry Park, where the Expos, Canada's first major league team, played from 1969 to 1976. The home is currently owned by Eric Boudreault and is undergoing minor renovations to its interior.
The plaque reads (in French as well): Hall of Fame baseball legend and civil rights leader Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson and wife, Rachel, lived in this house when he played with the Montreal Royals in the Class AAA International League in 1946. The first black Major League Baseball player in the modern era, Robinson became a powerful symbol of hope an inspiration to millions with his grace, dignity and determination.
In attendance at the unveiling, in addition to Sharon Robinson, were U.S. ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, Lee McClenny, the U.S. consul general in Montreal, Quebec Minister of Education, Leisure and Sport Line Beauchamp and Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay.
"I'm from Chicago, and baseball was a very important part of my life growing up, and this part of baseball was particularly important to everybody in the United States," Jacobson said. "So it's an honour to be here and to be able to celebrate this and in particular to be able to celebrate what the people of Montreal did and what they showed to Americans at a time when we weren't particularly as tolerant as we ought to have been."
Jackie Robinson made sports history as a member of the minor-league Royals, playing only one summer here. The native of Cairo, Ga., was scouted while playing in the negro leagues by Branch Rickey, club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey - whom Tremblay mistakenly referred to as "Mr. Reilly" in an otherwise stirring address of appreciation for the Robinsons during the ceremony - saw Robinson as the best candidate to challenge baseball's colour line which had existed since the 1880s.
In his first meeting with Rickey on Aug. 28, 1945, Robinson expressed shock at an offer to become what was referred to as "the noble experiment" and asked Rickey: "Are you looking for a negro who is afraid to fight back?" Rickey responded, saying he needed a negro player "with guts enough not to fight back."
Robinson then signed a contract for $600 a month (about $7,322 in today's dollars), according to published accounts, and played shortstop and second base for Royals who played at Delormier Stadium on Ontario St. E., near de Lormier Ave.
With the Royals that one season, Robinson led the International League with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage and was named the league MVP.
He was in Dodgers' uniform the following season to officially break Major League Baseball's colour barrier. And with it came the bitter taste of life as a black man playing baseball in a white man league.
The Robinsons were met with racism at every turn, with whites-only hotels, restaurants, washrooms, flights and even rival ballparks and the teams which occupied them. But it was a complete reversal of things here.
"When my father and mother were in Montreal, they were welcomed and the fans were great. It was a very positive experience," Sharon Robinson said. "When they were on the road, it was a completely different situation.
"There's one example when he was playing in Montreal when they were on the road in Syracuse (N.Y.) and one of the opposing players threw a black cat on the field and said, 'Hey Jackie, here's your cousin.'
"My father was very angry but he had an agreement (with Rickey) that he would not fight back with words or fists. So he hit a double and the next batter up brought him home and on his way past the dugout, he said to the guy who threw out the cat, 'I guess my cousin's happy now.'
"He had a way of sort of fighting back with his sort of aggressive style of play," she said. "And he just loved when he was going to steal a base or steal home and knew that it was going to be successful because that was his way of expressing and releasing some of the anger that he felt and also some of the joy he felt playing the game."
Rachel Robinson, 88, was not able to attend the ceremony, but in a letter to the Johnson and read during the ceremony, she expressed gratitude for how she and Jackie were treated here, a time when she also was pregnant with the couple's first child, Jackie Jr., who died in a car accident in 1971.
"I remember Montreal and that house very well and have always had warm feeling for that great city," she said. "Before Jack and I moved to Montreal, we had just been through some very rough treatment in the racially biased South during spring training in Florida.
"We were still shaken from that experience and didn't know what to expect in Montreal. We knew that this was a noble experiment sponsored by Branch Rickey to integrate Major League Baseball against serious opposition and Jack's shot at playing in the major leagues," she continued. "We couldn't afford to fail.
"In the end, Montreal was the perfect place for him to get his start. We never had a threatening or unpleasant experience there. The people were so welcoming and saw Jack as a player and as a man."
Robinson played 10 seasons in the major leagues, all with Brooklyn and he led the Dodgers to six pennants. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility, becoming the first African-American player enshrined. He died Oct. 24, 1972 in Stamford, Conn., at the age of 53 after complications brought on by heart disease and diabetes.
Robinson's impact on the game was so significant that Major League Baseball on April 15, 1997, ruled that no player - with the exception of active Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, who was wearing the number before the rule was made - will ever be allowed to wear his No. 42 again.
rphillips@montrealgazette.com
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Baseball+great+home+away+from+hate/4362662/story.html#ixzz1FMvvayZb