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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Jackie Robinson
Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Jackie Robinson as a Los Angeles Dodger 1948
JACKIE ROBINSON
Awarded by
President Ronald Reagan
March 26, 1984
As an individual of courage and conviction, and as a skilled and dedicated athlete, Jackie Robinson stood tall among his peers. His courage opened the door of professional sports to all Americans when, in 1947, he became the first black baseball player in the major leagues. He bravely demonstrated to all that skill and sportsmanship, not race or ethnic background, are the qualities by which athletes should be judged. In doing so, he struck a mighty blow for equality, freedom, and the American way of life. Jackie Robinson was a good citizen, a great man, and a true American champion.
Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers; Larry Doby, Cleveland Indians; Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers; Luke Easter, Cleveland Indians; and Roy Campanella Brooklyn Dodgers. The success of these players on the field helped pave the way for more African Americans to become big-leaguer Baseball Players.
Click Here To See A Video On Jackie Robinson
"Strike Against Jackie Spiked," 1947
From The Baltimore Afro-American , May 17, 1947.
Strike Against Jackie Spiked
Rickey Terms Rumor
"Tempest in Teapot"
By SAM LACY
AFRO Sports Editor
Philadelphia
Despite emphatic denials on the part of the principal characters in the drama, it is an established fact that a move to promote a strike against the presence of Jackie Robinson in the National League was on foot here and in Brooklyn last week.
The strike, instigated by a small bloc of St. Louis Cardinal players who had fantastic visions of a general walkout later, was checked by League President Ford Frick and Cardinal owner Sam Breadon. Both denied this, however. . . .
Breadon Pleads Ignorance
Breadon asserted that he was not aware of the strike plan, and explained his hurried trip to Brooklyn last Tuesday as for the purpose of finding a means of improving the hapless 1948 champions currently floundering in last place in the league standings.
Whether Frick talked to the players in person or whether he sent them a written message, could not be confirmed when the Dodgers arrived here Friday to open a four-game series with the Phillies. But it is a known fact that he told the St. Louis team:
"If you do this (strike) you will be suspended from the league. You will find that the friends you think you have in the press box will not support you, that you will be outcasts. I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. All will be suspended and I don't care if it wrecks the National League for five years. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another.
"The National League will go down the line with Robinson whatever the consequences. You will find if you go through with your intention that you have been guilty of complete madness."
Rickey's Statement
Following on the heels of these denials, Branch Rickey, president of the Dodgers, attempted to brush off the matter with the assertion that it was "just a tempest in the teapot." . . .
But the AFRO learned this was not exactly true. While Rickey may have been sincere in his belief, it was discovered that the strike plan was actually in effect as early as last March, when several Brooklyn players sought to promote a petition demanding that Robinson be forgotten as a prospect for the Dodgers. . . .
Scheduled for May 6
Originally, the St. Louis walk-out was to have taken place on May 6, when the Cardinals went to Brooklyn for the first game of the series with that club. But the lowly state of the team in the National League race is believed to have given the players something else to think about. The anti-Robinson plan, consequently, lost much of its importance to them.
Although denials as to the existence of strike machinery have been general, and although none of the Cardinals admitted to New York newsmen that he was in any way involved, the AFRO determined here Saturday morning that three key players of the club were questioned at length by Breadon and Dyer during the club's stay in Brooklyn.
These were Terry Moore, center-fielder; Marty Marion, shortstop, and Stan Musial, first baseman. Moore and Marion are the Cardinals' representatives on the baseball players' committee, set up last year to thwart a union movement and to create a better understanding between players and owners.
Moore was born on Vernon, Ala., now resides in St. Louis. Marion, a native of Richbourg, S.C., lives in Iva, S.C. Musial is a native of Donors, Pa.
Jackie Robinson as an student athlete at UCLA 1941
Traveling with the Dodgers, 1947
From The Pittsburgh Courier , May 31, 1947.
Riding the Rails with Brooklyn's "Bums". . .
EN ROUTE, ST. LOUIS TO NEW YORK-This is being written as we speed across the countryside aboard the crack "Missourian" headed for New York City and "dear ole Flatbush.". . . This is the last leg of the Dodgers' first swing around the Western loop and they are returning home with a record of three wins and five losses, perched in fifth place and only one and a half games out of first place. . . . The Brooks travel in real style, being quartered in compartments with two men to a room. It takes two and a half Pullman cars to accommodate the team and caravan of newspapermen who travel with it. . . .
It is on long trips like this that the players really get a chance to know each other. While en route from city to city, they spend most of their time playing cards. The most popular game, of course, is bridge, followed by pinochle, hearts and rummy. Robinson plays all four rather well. . . .
He seldom gets a chance to eat a peaceful meal on the train. It is an exception when he can eat without being interrupted by some admiring passenger and asked to autograph a menu or even a napkin. . . . Jackie usually eats ham and eggs for breakfast, a light lunch and he tops the dinner feast off with a big steak. His favorite drink is a glass of milk.
Must Turn Down Bids. . . .
Wherever he goes, the Brooklyn first basemen receives more invitations to attend functions than he can possibly accept. He has been given definite instructions by Branch Rickey to turn down all bids to such affairs, and he gets weary at times trying to explain to people that the management of the ball club has forbidden him to accept invitations. . .
They call him on the telephone at all hours of the morning or night. I know because I have roomed with him on this trip and have been awakened as early as 7:00 o'clock in the morning to answer the phone. In Chicago we were in Room 640 at the Stevens Hotel and the receiver hardly stayed on the hook, the phone rang so often. One morning a well meaning, but thoughtless woman woke us up at 7:45. She wanted Jackie to be her guest at dinner that night! He had hardly gotten back in the bed when someone else called and asked him to make a speech at nine o'clock that night at a tea party! We finally had to instruct the switchboard operator to hold all calls until we got up at 10:30.
Stayed with Friends in St. Louis. . . .
Robinson did not stay at the Chase Hotel with the rest of the team in St. Louis. Although he was not personally refused by the management of the hotel, he learned that they were not anxious to have him. Consequently he voluntarily stepped out of the picture in order to avoid any controversy. The first night he stayed with an old Army pal, Joe Neal, who is the director of the Neighborhood House, a St. Louis community center, and the next night at the Deluxe Hotel, owned and operated by Charles Abernathy, prominent Negro realtor, and close friend to Joe Louis and other celebrities. . .
A downpour of rain made it necessary to call off Tuesday night's game. From all indications, a record breaking crowd was disappointed, including Sam Breadon, president of the Cards, who moaned and groaned as he looked out of his office window and saw no less than 35,000 fans turn around and go back home. The rain not only dampened his spirits, but "soaked" him out of a gate that would have amounted to approximately $50,000.
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Medal History
