Rickey and Robinson Read Free

picked up a piece of paper from his desk. He looked it over for a couple. of moments. “About the Kansas City Monarchs—do you have a written or oral agreement to play for the Monarchs for the rest of the season?”
    “No, sir. We just play from one payday to the next.”
    “How about next year?”
    “No. There is no agreement of any kind. All the players on the Monarchs go from payday to payday. They pay me a certain amount each payday, but either side could end the arrangement at the end of the month if they wanted to, Mr. Rickey. That’s the way it works.”
    “That was my impression too, Jackie, but I wanted to see how much of the situation you understood.”
    The older man then proceeded to reveal to the astonished Robinson how extensively he had investigated Robinson’s life. Rickey knew that Robinson was, like himself, a Methodist and a nondrinker. He had visited California, where Robinson had grown up and made a name for himself in high school and college sports. Rickey had spoken with a Californian who was close to Robinson during his days at UCLA and had criticized Jackie for being too competitive.
    Rickey was also aware of Robinson’s army career. Drafted in I942 at the age of twenty-three, Robinson was designated for limited service as a result of bone chips in his ankle caused by an old football injury. At basic training in Fort Riley, Kansas, Jackie applied for Officer’s Candidate School, only to be told off the record that Fort Riley did not accept members of his race for such training.
    Robinson had had a chance meeting and a few rounds of golf with the most famous black athlete of the time, Joe Louis, the heavyweight champion of the world, who was stationed at Fort Riley for a brief time. Robinson got in touch with Louis, and Louis called Truman Gibson, a black civil rights leader and adviser to the Secretary of Defense. Gibson came to Fort Riley to investigate. OCS opened its doors for Robinson and a few of his black fellow soldiers.
    Robinson’s regard for the army was understandably not too high at this point, but just about the time of his birthday in 1943, he was awarded his second lieutenant’s bars and was transferred to a Negro provisional truck battalion, where he was made morale officer for the troops.
    Again Robinson found prejudice and segregation firmly entrenched in army life. At the PX, just a half dozen seats were assigned to black personnel. There were other empty seats, but they were reserved for the white soldiers. Blacks stood for long periods of time waiting to claim their six seats as they were vacated.
    In his capacity as morale officer, Robinson phoned the provost marshal, Major Hafner, and complained. He was told that things were better the way they were and that nothing could be done. “Lieutenant Robinson,” Hafner had concluded, “let me put it this way—how would you like your wife sitting next to a nigger?”
    Robinson was enraged. Hafner, realizing now he was speaking to a black man, hung up. But the exchange had not gone unnoticed. The office of battalion commander Colonel Longley was near where Robinson had made the phone call. Longley had heard the screaming, and after interviewing Jackie sided with the highly agitated black man. He sent a scorching letter of reprimand to Hafner and a letter of commendation to Robinson for standing up for his men. The incident led to a change in the PX seating arrangements.
    Lieutenant Robinson was getting into shape to play football for the Fort Riley team when he was suddenly granted a two-week leave. When he returned, he learned that the leave was given so that he would not be on the scene when Fort Riley played against the University of Missouri. That institution had served notice that it would not participate in a football game against a team with a black athlete. Robinson quit the Fort Riley team, saying that he would not play on a squad that yielded to racial prejudice. ”You can order me to play,” he told the