On April 10, 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey issued a press statement during the sixth inning of an exhibition game against their minor league affiliate, the Montreal Royals. The statement read: “The Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased the contract of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson from the Montreal Royals. He will report immediately.”
i don’t want to be an easter scrooge, but that signing was the beginning of the end for negro league baseball, an amazing league that must have enriched the African American community for decades. Oh well, the MLB is still my favorite monopoly.
Very true. Have you ever visited the Negro Leagues Museum? It’s pretty fantastic — I want to go through it again sometime in the near future.
I’ve never been there. It’s in Kansas City, right? I would definitely like to visit Kauffman Stadium, see the Royals and that museum.
Yes, it is. It’s in the same building as the Kansas City Jazz Museum, which is also terrific and worth a tour.