Forgotten Fridays: How disappointing contract terms threatened Jackie Robinsons debut

July 09, 2024

Even if only for a brief moment, there was a time when Major League Baseball observers were concerned that Jackie Robinson’s historic debut, as the first Black player in the modern era, may not happen in 1947.

When April 15 comes around in a month and a half, it’ll mark the 75th anniversary of Robinson stepping onto Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field against the Boston Braves and breaking the color barrier when he appeared with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rewind to Feb. 28, 1947, and there was genuine trepidation on whether that moment would arrive.

So what was the issue? The league made $100,000 in revenue because of Robinson, while he only took home 4 percent of it.

When Robinson initially signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in October 1945, the team announced he did so for $600 a month and with a $3,500 signing bonus. In February 1947, according to the Montreal Star, Robinson was making $4,000 playing for the Triple-A Montreal Royals.

“Mr. (Branch) Rickey, I feel, is sincere in saying that I will get my chance,” Robinson told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Feb. 28, 1947. “My Montreal contract was a little disappointing, otherwise, I don’t feel badly that I’m still with the Royals. I realized that it’s going to take a lot of ball playing to break into the Dodger lineup for me or fellows like Marvin Rackley or Tom Tatum. Brooklyn has a grand ballclub.”

Lloyd McGowan of the Star broke down Robinson’s pay even further, reporting he made $3,000 in salary from the Royals in 1946, plus $1,200 more in bonus thanks to the playoff push. A few of the second baseman’s achievements the prior year included leading International League hitters with a .349 average, leading second basemen in double plays (96) and being tied for the scoring lead with 119 runs, while coming in second in stolen bases (40) and bases on balls (92).

Robinson, media members and many fans were aligned with the idea that the future Hall of Famer had more than justified a pay increase with how he performed on the diamond.

“Normally, a ballplayer after a year like that would be sought by Major League clubs,” wrote McGowan. “He would be worth $50,000. Can Robinson be reconciled to play with the Royals again when he has earned his chance in the Big Show on sheer ability?

“Robinson owes a loyalty to Rickey for giving him his chance. Still, he isn’t a $4,000 ballplayer. He is a $10,000 ballplayer.”

Dodgers general manager and co-owner Branch Rickey explained that while Robinson must know that he’s worth more than $4,000 to the Royals, the club had to respect the salary limit.

“I do not resent being with Montreal,” Robinson said in Havana to the Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) on March 4, 1947. “I can understand that a lot of people might feel my showing in my first year was that of a flash in the pan.

“If I don’t show well, I’ll continue to play with Montreal and hope for the best.”

But one of the main people in Robinson’s corner and vocal supporters of his talent, Dodgers’ manager Leo “The Lip” Durocher, was less than interested in Robinson’s modesty or people’s obtuseness about the prospect’s ability to join the big leagues.

“He’s a swell ballplayer,” Durocher told the Pittsburgh Courier on March 1, 1947. “I saw him at least three times last season. He’s my type of ballplayer. Jackie can hit, run and field. What more can a manager ask of a player? Geez, the guy was sensational last season, and a lot of people still are dubious about his ability. Jackie Robinson is a damn good ballplayer. I like him.”

Said president of the International Baseball League Frank Shaughnessy: “Robinson was the best big-leagues prospect I saw all last year in the minors. And I’ll tell you why: Above everything else, he’s a smart ballplayer.”

Ultimately, Robinson opted to let his play on the field resolve the matter of whether he should be paid more or if his performance merited being called up to the big leagues. He had the support of outside observers, who objectively made it known that the eventual first baseman deserved to be a part of the Dodgers team and not in the farm system any longer.

And those people knew that Robinson was determined to put his head down and do what needed to be done — endure racist abuse, play first base versus his natural second-base position and make less than he was clearly worth — in order to reach his true goal of playing in the majors. Although, Montreal had welcomed him and his family with few issues, Robinson received a small taste of what awaited him playing in the States after the Royals’ six-game series in the Junior World Series against the Louisville (Ky.) Colonels.

During that opening three-game stretch in the South, Robinson was run ragged as he wasn’t allowed to reside at the team hotel, the fans mercilessly taunted him, which contributed to him going 0-for-5 in the first game. That was the first time he was held hitless when he had at least five at-bats. Robinson made a fielding error in Game 2, and overall, was 1-for-10 with three strikeouts in the first three games of the series. He would recover when the championship returned to Montreal to help the Royals take the crown in six games, but that experience coupled with his first spring training camp in segregated Florida further drove home the reality of the journey he was about to embark on.

But reaching the majors was his goal, so he put what happened next into a higher power’s hands.

“The Good Lord was on my side last year — I hope He’s with me this year,” Robinson told the Associated Press on Feb. 22, 1947.

Asked if he anticipated any trouble as he set his sights on becoming the first Black player, Robinson coolly responded, “No — leastwise, I hope not.

“I figure I broke the ice last year. The Montreal players and fans were swell to me. Couldn’t ask for better treatment. The players certainly helped me, a freshman, on the field. … I think the best thing that happened was after we won the Little Series. One of the players — he was from Texas — came over and told me that if all the other colored boys trying to get into baseball were like me, everything would be all right.”

The weight of representing and creating opportunities for future African Americans trying to crack into the big leagues also didn’t appear to add additional weight to Robinson’s shoulders. At least according to him back in 1947.

The 28-year-old operated under the belief that if he went out and performed to his capabilities — Robinson had a .349 batting average and fielded .985 from second base en route to winning the International League batting championship and Little World Series in 1946 — then there would be no argument about whether Black players belonged or should be given an opportunity to play.

“No, I don’t feel a great responsibility,” Robinson began, “like I said, I figure I broke the ice last year. … Now, I reckon everyone is on his own feet. It’s up to us to make good as players. That’s all. If I can’t make it with Brooklyn, it’s back to Montreal — or maybe the sticks. It’s up to me.”

During his 10-year career, Robinson won the 1947 Rookie of the Year Award and 1949 National League MVP, helped the Dodgers win the 1955 World Series and earned seven All-Star selections.

(Photo: Keystone / Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57kmprbnFkbnxzfJFrZmlqX2eCcLLOq56orKSau26y0aKbmrGjYrWww4ydoKyZoKW8qrrToqWgZZOku7W%2BwJyrZqyVp7q0edOhqZ6ZpJq7prCMo5ico5maerO7waKlrKeeqHqlscGuq2g%3D