About Jackie Robinson
"He could hit and bunt and steal and run. He had intimidating skills, and he burned with a dark fire."
-Roger Kahn, author
"He was the greatest competitor I have ever seen."
-Duke Snider, teammate
"Jackie, we've got no army. There's virtually nobody on our side. No owner, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I'm afraid that many fans may be hostile. We'll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I am doing this because you're a great ballplayer, and a fine gentleman."
-Branch Rickey, ex-GM of Brooklyn Dodgers
"There was never a man in the game who could put mind and muscle together quicker than Jackie Robinson."
-Branch Rickey
-Roger Kahn, author
"He was the greatest competitor I have ever seen."
-Duke Snider, teammate
"Jackie, we've got no army. There's virtually nobody on our side. No owner, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I'm afraid that many fans may be hostile. We'll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I am doing this because you're a great ballplayer, and a fine gentleman."
-Branch Rickey, ex-GM of Brooklyn Dodgers
"There was never a man in the game who could put mind and muscle together quicker than Jackie Robinson."
-Branch Rickey
By Jackie Robinson
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
"Above anything else, I hate to lose."
"Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead."
"But as I write these words now I cannot stand and sing the National Anthem. I have learned that I remain a black in a white world."
"But if Mr. Rickey hadn't signed me, I wouldn't have played another year in the black league. It was too difficult. The travel was brutal. Financially, there was no reward. It took everything you make to live off."
"How you played in yesterday's game is all that counts."
"I guess you'd call me an independent since I've never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label."
"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."
"It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first."
"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life."
"Pop flies, in a sense, are just a diversion for a second baseman. Grounders are his stock trade."
"The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time."
"The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it."
"There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free."
"Above anything else, I hate to lose."
"Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead."
"But as I write these words now I cannot stand and sing the National Anthem. I have learned that I remain a black in a white world."
"But if Mr. Rickey hadn't signed me, I wouldn't have played another year in the black league. It was too difficult. The travel was brutal. Financially, there was no reward. It took everything you make to live off."
"How you played in yesterday's game is all that counts."
"I guess you'd call me an independent since I've never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label."
"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."
"It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first."
"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life."
"Pop flies, in a sense, are just a diversion for a second baseman. Grounders are his stock trade."
"The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time."
"The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it."
"There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free."