Part 9A of a 10-part series
For all the attention Richard Griffin and Geoff Baker have received here on Batter's Box, especially since this series started, sometimes maybe it's best to just let a writer's words speak for themselves. Not in defense, or in reaction -- just the words of a particularly favorite piece of writing.
"The best thing I've ever written – and you have to remember I've only been writing for nine years," says Richard Griffin, "was a Jackie Robinson feature for his 50th anniversary as a Montreal Royal in 1996."
Griffin recalls that he "spent months researching his story and traveled to Montreal to interview Rachel Robinson. I have collected books on Robinson and the history of race relations in the States. I feel I know as much about the baseball pioneer as anyone."
Thanks to Geoff Baker for providing text to these stories from the Toronto Star database and permission to republish them here. Links below will open a new browser window.
The Main Story:
Canada was the testing site for baseball's racial experiment
Sidebars:
Couple's Florida trip was 'bumpy'
Robinson's Royals ruled baseball's minor leagues
Robinson remembered ... century's greatest athlete by Dave Perkins
Playoff in Dixie inspired Robinson
Branch Rickey: A man for all seasons
Robinson was multi-talented
Bud Fowler was baseball's first black professional player in 1872
Rachel Robinson: A Crusader
Lieutenant Robinson fought for his rights
Secret owners' list just reeked of racism
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030926095403999