Editing Jackie Robinson (section)

===Minor leagues===
In 1946, Robinson arrived at [[Daytona Beach, Florida]], for [[spring training]] with the [[Montreal Royals]] of the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Class AAA]] [[International League]]. [[Clay Hopper]], the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodger affiliate, but Rickey refused.<ref name=redemption>{{cite news|last=Lamb |first=Chris |url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/Opinion+redemption+Clay+Hopper/8196800/story.html |title=Opinion: The redemption of Clay Hopper |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]] |date=April 7, 2013 |access-date=April 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405102841/http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Opinion%2Bredemption%2BClay%2BHopper/8196800/story.html |archive-date=April 5, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Baseball. Jack Robinson BAnQ P48S1P12829 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Robinson with the [[Montreal Royals]] in July 1946, the year before he was called up to the Majors|alt=A black man in a baseball uniform with the words "Royals" and a baseball cap with the letter "M".]]

Robinson's presence was controversial in racially segregated Florida. He was not allowed to stay with his white teammates at the team hotel, and instead lodged at the home of Joe and Dufferin Harris, a politically active African-American couple who introduced the Robinsons to civil rights activist [[Mary McLeod Bethune]].<ref>[[#Lamb|Lamb]], p. 93.</ref><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 41.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/teachingwithhistoricplaces/upload/Twhp-Lessons_RobinsonBallpark2016.pdf |title=A Field of Dreams: The Jackie Robinson Ballpark |date=2016 |website=Teaching with Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service|pages=18–20|access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref> Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility, scheduling was subject to the whim of area localities, several of which turned down any event involving Robinson or [[Johnny Wright (baseball)|Johnny Wright]], another black player whom Rickey had signed to the Dodgers' organization in January. In [[Sanford, Florida]], the police chief threatened to cancel games if Robinson and Wright did not cease training activities there; as a result, Robinson was sent back to Daytona Beach.<ref>[[#Lamb|Lamb]], p. 88.</ref><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], pp. 42–43.</ref> In [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], the [[J. P. Small Memorial Stadium|stadium]] was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director.<ref>{{cite news|title=Royals' Game Off at Jacksonville |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 23, 1946 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/03/23/archives/royals-game-off-at-jacksonville-city-denies-use-of-field-for-sunday.html |via=TimeMachine |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>[[#Lamb|Lamb]], pp. 135–136.</ref> In [[DeLand, Florida|DeLand]], a scheduled day game was postponed, ostensibly because of issues with the stadium's electrical lighting.<ref>[[#Lamb|Lamb]], p. 140.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Reichard |first=Kevin |url=http://ballparkdigest.com/200811291030/minor-league-baseball/visits/jackie-robinson-ballpark-daytona-cubs |title=Jackie Robinson Ballpark / Daytona Cubs |website=BallparkDigest.com |date=November 29, 2008 |access-date=May 6, 2017}}</ref>

After much lobbying of local officials by Rickey himself, the Royals were allowed to host a game involving Robinson in Daytona Beach.<ref>[[#Lamb|Lamb]], p. 104.</ref><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 45.</ref> Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, 1946, in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers. Robinson thus became the first black player to openly play for a minor league team against a major league team since the ''de facto'' baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Vasile |first1=Sarah |title=Before Jackie Robinson, This Forgotten Man Broke Baseball's Color Barrier |url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/02/10/before-jackie-robinson-moses-fleetwood-walker-baseball-color-barrier |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=February 10, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Jackie Robinson a211368-v8.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Robinson (holding bats) playing in Montreal|alt=Two white men in baseball uniform with back to camera watch a black baseball player take batting practice]]

Later in spring training, after some less-than-stellar performances, Robinson was shifted from shortstop to [[second baseman|second base]], allowing him to make shorter throws to first base.<ref name=time>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,933586,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312164525/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,933586,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 12, 2010 |title=Jackie Makes Good |access-date=July 21, 2021 |date=August 26, 1946 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Robinson's performance soon rebounded. On April 18, 1946, [[Roosevelt Stadium]] hosted the [[Jersey City Giants]]' season opener against the [[Montreal Royals]], marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the first time the color barrier had been broken in a game between two minor league clubs.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FV0uF_RwC00C&pg=PA15|title=The Negro Leagues in New Jersey: A History|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=2008|last1=Martin|first1=Alfred M.|last2=Martin|first2=Alfred T.|page=15|isbn=978-0-7864-3900-3}}</ref> Pitching against Robinson was [[Warren Sandel]] who had played against him when they both lived in California. During Robinson's first at bat, the Jersey City catcher, Dick Bouknight, demanded that Sandel throw at Robinson, but Sandel refused. Although Sandel induced Robinson to ground out at his first at bat, Robinson ended up with four hits in his five [[at bat]]s; his first hit was a three-run home run in the game's third [[inning]].<ref>Van Blair, Rick (1994) ''Dugout to Foxhole: Interviews with Baseball Players Whose Careers Were Affected by World War II.'' Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, pp. 180–191</ref> He also scored four [[Run (baseball)|runs]], drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory.<ref>[[#Tygiel|Tygiel (1983)]], pp. 3, 7</ref> Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] and .985 [[fielding percentage]], and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player.<ref>[[#Simon|Simon]], p. 97.</ref> Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a [[Southern United States|Southern]] exhibition tour, for example),<ref name=time/>, in Canada, the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson.<ref>[[#Linge|Linge]], p. 54.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Matheson |first1=Keegan |title=Montreal was Jackie's 'paradise' in 1946 |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/jackie-robinson-loved-playing-with-montreal-royals |website=[[Major League Baseball|MLB.com]] |date=February 5, 2022}}</ref> Whether fans supported or opposed it, Robinson's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an astounding figure by International League standards.<ref name=SABRbio>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jackie-robinson/ |title=Jackie Robinson (SABR BioProject) |website=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref> In the fall of 1946, following the baseball season, Robinson returned home to California and briefly played professional basketball for the short-lived [[Los Angeles Red Devils]].<ref>[[#Tygiel|Tygiel (1983)]], pp. 163–164.</ref><ref>[[#Rampersad|Rampersad]], pp. 158–159.</ref>