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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
Richard Griffin: "The Best Thing I've Ever Written" | 3 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Friday, September 26 2003 @ 12:41 PM EDT (#33373) #
This was a good piece of writing, about a topic that was obviously close to the heart.
Coach - Friday, September 26 2003 @ 04:36 PM EDT (#33374) #
It puzzles me that where Richard Griffin is concerned, a lot of people have reversed the old adage about not saying anything unless you can say something nice.

As a group, we are very quick to jump on him for the provocative stuff we perceive to be anti-Jays or anti-Ricciardi, but when the man writes something really great, we ignore it.

I've linked to many of his columns that were clever, interesting and informative, but they have drawn very little response. Griffin may not always share our views on the Jays, but he's written some excellent articles on the Expos, MLB, the all-star game, the coincidental frugality that wasn't really collusion last winter, and a peewee tournament, to name a few.

This piece was superb. I'd like to own a hard copy.
_Matthew Elmslie - Friday, September 26 2003 @ 05:16 PM EDT (#33375) #
Coach: You have a point, but I don't think we can charge it all to adversariality*. There's only one way to agree with something, and many ways to disagree. Plus, agreeing can be done more quickly and casually. If you want a discussion that you can really sink your teeth into, you need a disagreement.

I agree that this was an excellent article. As I've said before, this is the kind of thing Griffin does best - talk to a person and present him or her to us. It's when he gets into analysis and commentary that we start getting the knives out.
Richard Griffin: "The Best Thing I've Ever Written" | 3 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.