Editing Jackie Robinson (section)

===Negro leagues and major league prospects===
[[File:Jackie Robinson Kansas City Monarchs.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A black man in baseball uniform with the letters "K" and "C" on the chest|Robinson during his stint in the Negro leagues with the [[Kansas City Monarchs]]]]

In early 1945, while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the [[Kansas City Monarchs]] sent him a written offer to play professional baseball in the Negro leagues.<ref name=enders/><ref>[[#Eig|Eig]], p. 17.</ref> Robinson accepted a contract for $400 per month.<ref name="Gale Group"/><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 24.</ref> Although he played well for the Monarchs, Robinson was frustrated with the experience. He had grown used to a structured playing environment in college, and the Negro leagues' disorganization and embrace of gambling interests appalled him.<ref>[[#Tygiel|Tygiel (1983)]], p. 63.</ref><ref>[[#Bryant|Bryant]], p. 30.</ref> The hectic travel schedule also placed a burden on his relationship with Isum, with whom he could now communicate only by letter.<ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 25.</ref> In all, Robinson played 47 games at [[shortstop]] for the Monarchs, hitting .387 with five [[home run]]s, and registering 13 [[stolen base]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lester |first=Larry |author2=Sammy J. Miller  |title=Black Baseball in Kansas City |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2000 |page=55 |isbn=978-0-7385-0842-9}}</ref> He also appeared in the 1945 [[East–West All-Star Game]], going hitless in five at-bats.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lester |first=Larry |title=Black Baseball's National Showcase: The East–West All-Star Game, 1933–1953 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2002 |page=457 |isbn=978-0-8032-8000-7}}</ref>

During the season, Robinson pursued potential major league interests. No black man had played in the major leagues since [[Moses Fleetwood Walker]] in 1884, but the [[Boston Red Sox]] nevertheless held a tryout at [[Fenway Park]] for Robinson and other black players on April 16.<ref name=Bryantp31>[[#Bryant|Bryant]], p. 31.</ref><ref>[[#Robertson & Saunders|Robertson & Saunders]], p. 15.</ref> The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman [[Isadore H. Y. Muchnick]].<ref>[[#Simon|Simon]], pp. 46–47.</ref> Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets.<ref name=Npr2002>{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/oct/redsox/ | title = The Boston Red Sox and Racism: With New Owners, Team Confronts Legacy of Intolerance | publisher = National Public Radio | date = October 11, 2002 | access-date = April 21, 2018 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080405032805/http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/oct/redsox/ | archive-date = April 5, 2008 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> He left the tryout humiliated,<ref name=Bryantp31/> and more than 14 years later, in July 1959, the Red Sox became the final major league team to integrate its roster.<ref>{{cite web |work=[[Major League Baseball|MLB.com]] |title=Robinson's many peers follow his lead |url=http://mlbnetwork.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070412&content_id=1895202&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |last=O'Connell |first=Jack |date=April 13, 2007 |access-date=December 24, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822072051/http://mlbnetwork.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070412&content_id=1895202&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |archive-date=August 22, 2011 }}</ref>

Other teams, however, had more serious interest in signing a black ballplayer. In the mid-1940s, [[Branch Rickey]], club president and [[General manager (baseball)|general manager]] of the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]], began to scout the Negro leagues for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players and interviewed him for possible assignment to Brooklyn's [[International League]] [[Baseball farm team|farm club]], the [[Montreal Royals]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/general/povich/launch/jackier.htm |title=The Ball Stayed White, but the Game Did Not |access-date=October 12, 2008 |last=Povich |first=Shirley |date=March 28, 1997 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Rickey was especially interested in making sure his eventual signee could withstand the inevitable racial abuse that would be directed at him.<ref>{{cite web |website=[[Major League Baseball|MLB.com]] |url=http://mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080415&content_id=2529821 |title=One meeting, two men, a changed world |first=Justice B. |last=Hill |date=April 15, 2008 |access-date=January 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415235609/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080415&content_id=2529821&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb | archive-date=April 15, 2008 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=schwartz>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016431.html |title=Jackie changed face of sports |access-date=September 25, 2009 |last=Schwartz |first=Larry |year=2007 |work=[[ESPN]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410191113/http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016431.html |archive-date=April 10, 2010 }}</ref> In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945, Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrily—a concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military.<ref name="Gale Group"/> Robinson was aghast: "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?"<ref name=schwartz/><ref name=Robinsonp33/> Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with guts enough not to fight back."<ref name=schwartz/><ref name=Robinsonp33>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 33.</ref> After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to racial antagonism, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $600 a month, equal to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|600|1945}}}} today.<ref>[[#Rampersad|Rampersad]], p. 127.</ref><ref name=Robinsonp34>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 34.</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Thorn, John |author2=Tygiel, Jules |title=Jackie Robinson's Signing: The Real Story |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/jackie-robinsons-signing-the-real-story/ |website=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref> Rickey did not offer compensation to the Monarchs, instead believing all Negro league players were free agents due to the contracts not containing a reserve clause.<ref name="Beisbol">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoqyGjsXYnwC&pg=PA37|title=Béisbol|editor=[[Ilan Stavans]]|series=The Ilan Stavans Library of Latino Civilization|year=2012|isbn=978-0-313-37513-2|publisher=Greenwood|location=Santa Barbara, California|page=37}}</ref> Among those with whom Rickey discussed prospects was [[Wendell Smith (sportswriter)|Wendell Smith]], writer for the black weekly ''[[Pittsburgh Courier]]'', who, according to [[Cleveland Indians]] owner and team president [[Bill Veeck]], "influenced Rickey to take Jack Robinson, for which he's never completely gotten credit."<ref name="Moore">{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Joseph Thomas|title=Pride and Prejudice: The Biography of Larry Doby|location=New York|publisher=Praeger Publishers|year=1988|isbn=978-0-275-92984-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LjfGgiauBfcC&pg=PA40|page=40}}</ref>

Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, 1945.<ref>[[#Rampersad|Rampersad]], pp. 127–128.</ref> On October 23, it was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Royals for the 1946 season.<ref name="Gale Group"/><ref name=Robinsonp34/><ref>[[#Lamb|Lamb]], p. 43.</ref> On the same day, with representatives of the Royals and Dodgers present, Robinson formally signed his contract with the Royals.<ref>[[#Rampersad|Rampersad]], p. 129.</ref> In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment",<ref name="Gale Group"/><ref>[[#Tygiel|Tygiel (1983)]], p. 79.</ref> Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s.<ref>[[#Lamb|Lamb]], p. 6.</ref><ref name=Pennington>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/sports/27hall.html |title=Breaking a barrier 60 years before Robinson |last=Pennington |first=Bill |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 27, 2006 |access-date=September 13, 2009}}</ref> He was not necessarily the best player in the Negro leagues,<ref name="Satch1">{{cite book|last=Ribowsky|first=Mark |title=Don't Look Back: Satchel Paige In the Shadows of Baseball|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2000|page=313|isbn=978-0-306-80963-7}}</ref> and black talents [[Satchel Paige]] and [[Josh Gibson]] were upset when Robinson was selected first.<ref name="Satch2">{{cite book|last=Paige|first=Satchel|author2=David Lipman|title=Maybe I'll Pitch Forever: A Great Baseball Player Tells the Hilarious Story Behind the Legend|url=https://archive.org/details/maybeillpitchfor00paig/page/|url-access=registration|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|year=1993|pages=xi, xii|isbn=978-0-8032-8732-7}}</ref> [[Larry Doby]], who broke the color line in the [[American League]] the same year as Robinson, said, "One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jack was not the best player. The best was Josh Gibson. I think that's one of the reasons why Josh died so early—he was heartbroken."<ref name="Moore1">{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Joseph Thomas|title=Pride and Prejudice: The Biography of Larry Doby|location=New York|publisher=Praeger Publishers|year=1988|isbn=978-0-275-92984-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LjfGgiauBfcC&pg=PA30|page=30}}</ref>

Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave behind the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides, and he went home to Pasadena. That September, he signed with [[Chet Brewer]]'s Kansas City Royals, a post-season [[barnstorm (sports)|barnstorming]] team in the [[California Winter League]].<ref>[[#Tygiel2|Tygiel (2002)]], p. 28.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 30, 2024 |title=Jackie Robinson |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jackie-Robinson |access-date=January 31, 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Later that off-season, he briefly toured South America with another barnstorming team, while his fiancée Isum pursued nursing opportunities in New York City.<ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 37.</ref> On February 10, 1946, Robinson and Isum were married by their old friend, the Rev. Karl Downs.<ref name="Gale Group"/><ref>[[#Linge|Linge]], p. 49.</ref><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 38.</ref>