Jack Roosevelt Robinson never earned a reputation as a person who would back down from a confrontation. Although thoughtful and intelligent, Robinson had an intense fire that burned within him exponentially greater than his competitive spirit. Robinson grew up poor and black in America, a heavy burden for anyone, but especially for a man who made no apologies for himself and who treated everyone the way he expected to be treated. Jackie had been a star athlete at UCLA. He lettered in baseball, track, and football. Jackie translated that success into a successful stint with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League. He also served in the army as a lieutenant during World War II. That is why Branch Rickey, the owner and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, wanted Robinson for his team. But first, he had to meet Robinson face to face. To see if Robinson’s self dignified and somewhat fiery manner could be reconciled with his equally great skill as a second baseman.
When Rickey, a devout Methodist who would not attend Sunday games, was a team manager for Ohio Wesleyan College, he would routinely let the black players stay in his room. As a white man in America in the early 20th century, he witnessed first hand the grind that Jim Crow could have on a man. Rickey knew that if a black man was ever to play Major League baseball, then he would need the right mixture of internal fortitude and outward restraint. Robinson was seemingly the perfect candidate. A college educated, one time second lieutenant in the United States Army, and star of the Negro League who happened to be a phenomenal athlete and baseball player. But with all of these attributes and skills, Rickey worried that Robinson was naturally confrontational and quick to defend himself when he thought he was right.
With all this in mind, Branch Rickey met Jackie Roosevelt in Brooklyn in August, 1945 under the guise that the Dodgers were looking to form a new Negro League franchise known as...