Jackie Robinson's Biography As Rookie Of The Year

Jackie Robinson was the first Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year in 1947. Each league didn't have separate Rookie of the Year awards until 1949. Robinson led the National League with 28 stolen bases, had a 21-game hitting streak that was one short of the MLB rookie record, and led the National League champion Brooklyn Dodgers with 125 runs scored. However, Robinson's on-field achievements paled in comparison to what he achieved by becoming the first black Major League Baseball player.

History

Robinson signed a contract with the Montreal Royals, the Brooklyn Dodgers' top minor league team, on Oct. 23, 1945. Dodgers' general manager Branch Rickey said his scouts identified 25 blacks who could play Major League Baseball and selected Robinson over more prominent players because he felt Robinson was the best suited to "stand up to the physical, verbal and psychological abuse that was bound to come," according to "Jackie Robinson: A Biography." Robinson starred for Montreal in 1946 and was the only player among the International League's top 10 in batting average who wasn't on a MLB roster when spring training began in 1947.

Spring Training

Rickey wanted players to urge him to promote Robinson after watching him excel in spring training. Instead, Bobby Bragan and Dixie Walker of Alabama, Hugh Casey of Georgia, Pee Wee Reese of Kentucky, Carl Furillo of Pennsylvania and Kirby Higbe of South Carolina told Rickey they were organizing a petition campaign against Robinson. Manager Leo Durocher cursed them out. Reese changed his mind, didn't sign the petition and became Robinson's best friend on the Dodgers. Rickey promoted Robinson on April 10, 1947. Bragan, Walker and Higbe demanded to be traded. Only Higbe, Brooklyn's best pitcher, was. Walker, Brooklyn's best hitter, said he was afraid that Alabamans would spit on him and destroy his sporting goods store if he played with Robinson.

First Games

Robinson, a second baseman who wore No. 42, played first base for most of 1947 because Eddie Stanky was an excellent second baseman. In his first game on April 15, Robinson was loudly cheered in Brooklyn, while Walker was loudly booed. Robinson was hitless in four at-bats, but had six hits in his next three games. On April 22, Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman of Alabama shouted racial epithets at him throughout a game and persuaded a few Phillies to join him. The incident united the Dodgers, including Walker, who denounced Chapman, a close friend. Higbe, though, was angry at Reese for changing his mind about Robinson and threw the baseball at Reese's head when Pittsburgh played Brooklyn.

Supporting Robinson

National League president Ford Frick spoke out in favor of integration in May when some St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike rather than play against Robinson. Frick said he would rather suspend "half the league" than prevent Robinson from playing. By the end of the season, four other black men had played Major League Baseball -- the Cleveland Indians' Larry Doby, the St. Louis Browns' Willard Brown and Henry Thompson, and the Dodgers' Dan Bankhead. Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe joined the Dodgers in 1948 and 1949. After the 1947 season, Robinson was second in a nationwide popularity poll behind singer Bing Crosby. Higbe, though, was unrepentant and defended his behavior in a 1967 memoir.