Jackie Robinson--70 years later, Part 3: Montreal Royals

Jackie Robinson’s Legacy 70 Years Later

Part 3—Montreal Royals

                Branch Rickey chose the Montreal Royals for Jackie’s minor league tryout for the Brooklyn Dodgers hoping that being in Canada would lighten the racism burden on the young ballplayer. But it didn’t mean that there would be no problems.

                Right from the beginning, there were obstacles. Clay Hopper, the Royals’ manager, asked Rickey to send Robinson somewhere else. Rickey refused. In Spring Training in Florida, Jackie was not allowed to stay at the same hotel as his teammates. Many teams refused to play the Royals during Spring games if Robinson was allowed to participate.

                After much lobbying, Rickey was finally able to secure some Royals’ home games in Daytona Beach. Late in March, Robinson was switched from shortstop to second base after some less-than-stellar performances.

                As the regular season began, Montreal opened its season at Roosevelt Stadium against the Jersey City Giants on April 18, 1946. The starting pitcher for the Giants was Warren Sandel, who had played against Robinson when they both lived in California. Dick Bouknight, the Giants’ catcher, demanded that Sandel throw intentionally at Robinson but the pitcher refused. Jackie would finish the game with four hits in five at bats including a three-run home run in the third inning. He also scored four runs and stole two bases in Montreal’s 14-1 victory.

                It was the beginning of what would be a great minor league season as far as Robinson’s stats would go. He ended with a .349 batting average and would win the International League’s MVP Award. The Montreal fans supported Robinson whole-heartedly, but he would still face difficulties while on the road. The Royals were scheduled to play an exhibition tour in the southern United States but had to cancel due to hostilities and threats of violence that were promised if Jackie played.

                But, whether the fans supported or opposed his breaking the minor league colour barrier, Robinson was a great draw as far as attendance numbers. More than one million fans attended games in which he participated during the 1946 season.

                At the conclusion of the season, Robinson returned home to California where he played professional basketball for the Los Angeles Red Devils in preparation for his 1947 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

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