LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Jackie Robinson: Montreal Royals
built 654 days ago
After playing in Venezuela during the winter, Robinson joined the Royals in Florida for the 1946 spring training season. Robinson's venture into white organized baseball was opposed from the start by coaches, teammates, other teams, and many white fans. Facing racist taunts and segregated living conditions, Robinson managed to lead the Class AAA International League in batting (.349) and runs scored (113), and helped bring his team to the league championship.
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Rachel and Jackie are married in February. Jackie plays his first minor league game. The Royals win the "Little World Series," with Jackie scoring the winning run in the seventh and deciding game.
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Rickey interrogated Robinson extensively for three hours on August 28, 1945. In a dramatization of hotel, restaurant, and game situations, he glared at Robinson, shouting demeaning words and phrases while observing his reactions. At the end he quoted the Biblical passage that advises turning the other cheek. Satisfied that Robinson met the tests of ability, stamina, and tolerance, Rickey exacted a promise of extreme patience and forbearance for three years, then offered him a contract. On October 23, 1945, Rickey made the historic announcement that Jackie Robinson, a black man, would play for the Montreal Royals, the minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Satchel Paige gave a ringing endorsement of Robinson as the best possible selection for "The Noble Experiment."
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In 1946, the Dodgers assigned Jackie to the Montreal Royals. Robinson proceeded to lead the International League in batting average (.349) as well as fielding percentage (.985)[18] Because of Jackie's play in 1946, the Dodgers called him up to play for the major league club in 1947. Robinson made his Major League debut on April 15, 1947, playing first base. He went 0 for 3 against the Boston Braves, but the sport's color line had been shattered forever.
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Jackie then meets with a minister and discusses the implications of a Black man playing baseball - not only for Jackie, but all Black people. The amount of pressure must have been amazing. Jackie goes to Montreal to play in the minors.
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That August Rickey signed Robinson to a minor league contract, letting him play in Montreal in 1946. Rickey's choice of the Dodger's Montreal club was sheer genius, allowing Robinson to acclimate himself in a less hostile environment. Jackie was not only training for the "bigs," he was training for his role in creating an America that was truly "one nation." The young black man from Cairo, Georgia held up under the pressure, batting a league-leading .347 that year.
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