Jackie and Campy (26 page)

98.
Erskine and Rocks,
What I Learned from Jackie Robinson
, 17–18.

99.
New York Herald Tribune
, May 9, 1947.

100.
Ford Frick quoted in
New York Herald Tribune
, May 9, 1947.

101.
Bob Considine, “The Will to Overcome,”
Boston Herald
, October 27, 1972.

102.
Greenberg with Berkow,
Hank Greenberg
, 189–91. The most comprehensive treatment of Robinson and Greenberg is Cottrell,
Two Pioneers
.

103.
Mayer,
Notes of a Baseball Dreamer
, 23.

104.
Jack Ryan, “Comiskey Cup Another Wedge for Jackie in ’48 Salary Talks,”
Sporting News
, November 15, 1947. Until 1947 voting for Rookie of the Year was limited to the Chicago Chapter of Baseball Writers. Robinson, who beat out New York Giants pitcher Larry Jansen, was the first to be honored nationally. Previous winners were Lou Boudreau (1940), Pete Reiser (1941), Johnny Beazley (1942), Bill Voiselle (1943), Bill Johnson (1944), Dave Ferriss (1945), and Eddie Waitkus (1946).

105.
Bobby Bragan quoted in
Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers
.

106.
Wolff,
The Baseball Encyclopedia
, 2672.

1.
See Veeck and Linn,
Veeck as in Wreck
, 170, 179. Doby was signed by Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, in 1947, eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League. In his rookie season Doby hit five for thirty-two in twenty-nine games. In 1948 he became the first black player to hit a home run in a World Series to help the Indians defeat the Boston Braves. He also helped the Indians win 111 games and the American League pennant in 1954. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. See Moore,
Pride against Prejudice
.

2.
See Tommy Holme, “Jackie Robinson Is No Longer Unique,”
Brooklyn Eagle
, July 21, 1947. Willard Brown struggled with racism and with the lack of talent on the St. Louis Browns. After batting .179 in twenty-one games, he left the Majors, but not before becoming the first black player to hit a home run in the American League. See Larry Lester, “Willard Brown,” in Shatzkin,
The Ballplayers
, 126–27.

Hank Thompson was the first African American player for both the Browns and the New York Giants. His best season came in 1953 when he hit .302 with twenty-four home runs. The following season he helped the Giants capture the National League pennant and went on to hit .364 in the World Series against the Cleveland Indians. See Rich Marazzi, “Hank Thompson,” in Shatzkin,
The Ballplayers
, 1083.

3.
See Marzano,
The Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s
, 150. Bankhead was the first black pitcher in the Major Leagues. After a strong career in the Negro Leagues playing for the Memphis Red Sox, he was signed at age twenty-four by Branch Rickey to play in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ farm system. Bankhead was promoted to the Majors for parts of the 1947, 1950, and 1951 seasons. He hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat, on August 26, 1947, against Fritz Ostermueller of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1951, his final year in the Majors, he appeared in seven games, losing his only decision, with an
ERA
of 15.43. See Edward G. Maher, “Dan Bankhead,” in Shatzkin,
The Ballplayers
, 45.

4.
Lanctot,
Negro League Baseball
, 314–15. Veeck paid the Newark Eagles the unprecedented sum of $15,000 for Doby’s contract. Muckerman paid the Kansas City Monarchs $5,000 for the contracts of Brown and Thompson, with the promise of more money if the two players lasted more than a month in the Majors.

5.
Broeg, “Campy,” 17.

6.
See Trucks,
The Catcher
, 87–107. Baseball’s early catchers “expected to be the center of attention.” Natural leaders, they were rugged individualists in the same mold as frontiersmen and cowboys. During the twentieth century the
catcher evolved into a less glamorous position, “content to play a crucial but understated role.” Morris,
Catcher
, 25–26, 277. Campanella represented a hybrid of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century catcher. While he was viewed as a team member, his easygoing personality and natural ability often took over the game. In this respect Campy was a transitional figure, paving the way for the twentieth-century athlete as hero and role model.

7.
Roy Campanella Jr. quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

8.
Roy Campanella quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

9.
Broeg, “Campy,” 17.

10.
Durocher and Linn,
Nice Guys Finish Last
, 206–7.

11.
Marzano,
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940s
, 142, 163. Stanky was traded to the Boston Braves on March 6, 1948, in exchange for infielder-outfielder Bama Rowell and first baseman Ray Sanders.

12.
Durocher and Linn,
Nice Guys Finish Last
, 206.

13.
New York Times
, May 2, 1948.

14.
Herbert Goren, “Robinson Finds Going Rough,”
New York Times
, April 9, 1948.

15.
New York Daily Mirror
, May 26, 1948.

16.
Marzano,
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940s
, 164.

17.
Durocher and Linn,
Nice Guys Finish Last
, 206–7.

18.
Bill Roeder, “Robinson on Batting Rampage Revives Flatbush Pennant Fever,”
Brooklyn Eagle
, June 15, 1948.

19.
Interview of Robin Roberts, West Chester
PA
, April 14, 2000.

20.
Interview of Rich Ashburn, Philadelphia, June 11, 1996.

21.
Rich Ashburn, “Honoring Jackie Robinson,”
Philadelphia Bulletin
, April 21, 1973.

22.
Ashburn interview.

23.
Durocher and Linn,
Nice Guys Finish Last
, 208; Durocher quoted in Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 176.

24.
Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 85.

25.
Falkner,
Great Time Coming,
93.Robinson criticized the indulgent lifestyles, miserable conditions, and low salaries of the Negro Leagues as well as the owners’ failure to negotiate any kind of contract at all. See Robinson, “What’s Wrong with Negro Baseball?”

26.
Robinson quoted in
Pittsburgh Courier
, July 8, October 16, 1948.

27.
Larry Doby quoted in Moore,
Pride against Prejudice
, 169.

28.
Campanella,
It’s Good to Be Alive
, 130–31.

29.
Broeg, “Campy,” 17.

30.
Roy Campanella Jr. quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

31.
Roy Campanella quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

32.
Pee Wee Reese quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

33.
Preacher Roe quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

34.
Snider and Pepe,
Few and Chosen
, 161.

35.
Sporting News
, July 28, 1948; Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 189.

36.
Thorn and Palmer,
Total Baseball
, 1005, 1118, 1177, 1185, 1412, 1684.

37.
Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 87–88.

38.
Marzano,
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940s
, 169–72.

39.
Roy Campanella quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

40.
Campanella,
It’s Good to Be Alive
, 148; Lanctot,
Campy
, 161.

41.
Lanctot
, Campy
, 174–75.

1.
Branch Rickey quoted in
Baseball: The Proving Ground of Civil Rights
.

2.
Rachel Robinson quoted in
Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers
.

3.
Bill Roeder, “Milquetoast Days over for Jackie,”
New York World Telegram
, March 11, 1949.

4.
Jackie Robinson quoted in Arch Murray, “Robbie Warns He Won’t ‘Take It’ This Year,”
New York Daily News
, March 11, 1949.

5.
Albert Chandler and Jackie Robinson quoted in “Robinson Warned about Rough Play,”
New York Sun
, March 14, 1949.

6.
Ward and Burns,
Baseball
, 317–18.

7.
Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 213.

8.
Snider and Pepe,
Few and Chosen
, 39.

9.
Interview of Carl Erskine, Anderson
IN
, August 14, 2007.

10.
Erskine quoted in Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 214.

11.
Durocher and Linn,
Nice Guys Finish Last
, 208.

12.
Goodwin,
Wait ’til Next Year
, 44.

13.
Angell,
Five Seasons
, 54.

14.
Uhlberg,
Hands of My Father
, 202–4.

15.
Snider and Pepe,
Few and Chosen
, 41.

16.
Branca quoted in
Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers
.

17.
Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 192–93.

18.
Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 218–19.

19.
Rachel Robinson quoted in
Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers
.

20.
Rickey quoted in “Dodgers Schedule Exhibition in Atlanta,”
New York Herald Tribune
, January 15, 1949.

21.
“Klan’s Howl Held to be Groundless,”
New York Times
, January 18, 1949.

22.
Erskine interview; Erskine and Rocks,
What I Learned from Jackie Robinson
, 20–21.

23.
Interview of Gene Hermanski, Homosassa
FL
, August 19, 2007. Hermanski stated that he originally made the suggestion in a 1947 game against the Reds at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. On that occasion, Shotton informed the team
not only of the death threats but also that there were
FBI
agents in the park to protect Robinson.

24.
Reese quoted in Erskine and Rocks,
What I Learned from Jackie Robinson
, 21.

25.
“Robinson Received Mixed Reviews in Atlanta,”
New York Times
, April 8, 1949.

26.
Alvin Stokes quoted in U.S. House of Representatives, Un-American Activities Committee [hereafter
HUAC
], “Report of Hearings on Communist Infiltration of Minorities,” 428.

27.
Robeson,
The Undiscovered Paul Robeson
, 143.

28.
Eisenhower quoted in
HUAC
, “Report of Hearings on Communist Infiltration of Minorities,” 425–26.

29.
Manning Johnson quoted in
HUAC
, “Report of Hearings on Communist Infiltration of Minorities,” 436. In fact Robeson never joined the American Communist Party. But since many of his closest friends and associates were members and because he advocated many socialist causes such as trade unionism, he was accused of being a Communist Party member. See Duberman,
Paul Robeson
, 249–50.

30.
Kahn,
The Era
, 198–200.

31.
Balaji,
Professor and the Pupil
, 25, 42–43, 266–69.

32.
Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 95–96.

33.
Duberman,
Paul Robeson,
361–62.

34.
Jackie Robinson quoted in
HUAC
, “Report of Hearings on Communist Infiltration of Minorities,” 481–82.

35.
Robeson quoted in Foner,
Paul Robeson Speaks
, 219.

36.
Bill Mardo, “Robinson-Robeson,” in Dorinson and Warmund,
Jackie Robinson
, 103–4.

37.
Jackie Robinson quoted in
Daily Worker
, August 29, 1949.

38.
Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 202.

39.
Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 98.

40.
Lanctot,
Campy
, 171.

41.
Campanella quoted in Lanctot,
Campy
, 172. Lanctot claims that Campanella never spoke those words; rather the confrontation was invented by sportswriters in order to highlight the personality differences between the two black Dodgers stars.

42.
Campanella to Tygiel, November 15, 1980, quoted in Lanctot,
Campy
, 173.

43.
Erskine and Rocks,
What I Learned from Jackie Robinson
, 107.

44.
Newcombe quoted in Aaron and Wheeler,
I Had a Hammer
, 100.

45.
Erskine and Rocks,
What I Learned from Jackie Robinson
, 24.

46.
Campanella quoted in Dickson,
Baseball’s Greatest Quotations
, 71.

47.
Erskine and Rocks,
What I Learned from Jackie Robinson
, 24.

48.
Newcombe quoted in
At Nightfall: The Roy Campanella Story
.

49.
Francis Kinlaw, “Don Newcombe,” in Shatzkin,
The Ballplayers
, 801.

50.
Snider and Pepe,
Few and Chosen
, 132; Wolff,
The Baseball Encyclopedia
, 2674.

51.
“Chandler Warns Robinson to Quit His ‘Popping Off,’”
New York Times
, October 10, 1949.

52.
Raschi quoted in Halberstam,
Summer of ’49
, 258.

53.
Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 98–99.

54.
Carter,
Daguerreotypes
, 247.

55.
Dan Daniel, “Robinson ‘Most Valuable’ in N.L.,”
New York World-Telegram
, November 18, 1949. The Baseball Writers elected Robinson the National League
MVP
over Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals by a vote of 264 to 226.

56.
Falkner,
Great Time Coming
, 214–15; Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 99.

57.
Lanctot,
Campy
, 207–8; Erskine and Rocks,
What I Learned from Jackie Robinson
, 110.

58.
Jackie Robinson quoted in Lanctot,
Campy
, 208.

59.
Lester Dworman quoted in Lanctot,
Campy
, 208.

60.
Campanella quoted in Klima,
Willie’s Boys
, 218–19. Rickey agreed to Campanella’s request and sent Wid Matthews, one of the Dodgers’ southern scouts, to follow Mays. But Matthews reported back that Mays couldn’t hit.

61.
Lanctot,
Campy
, 209.

62.
Rickey quoted in Campanella,
It’s Good to Be Alive
, 152–153.

63.
Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 88.

64.
Robinson and Duckett,
I Never Had It Made
, 88–90.