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"I
think all the black guys who played the minor leagues at the time were
like Jackie Robinson. We didn't eat right, but when we played we had
to have endurance, stamina. There weren't any places for us to eat at
certain times at night. You had to eat sometimes when you shouldn't
eat. I guess God took care of us. I guess he kept us from doing things
that probably could have gotten us killed or hurt. I couldn't have done
what Jackie did, because I thought, I shouldn't have to. A guy could
come over here from Italy and play, from Mexico and play, from anywhere
in the world and play. I was born here, and I couldn't play. What the
hell was going on?"
"The
1952 spring training junket was the worst the tan Dodgers have experienced
since the Brooklyn club became integrated in 1947... The itinerary of
the Dodgers called for stops in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla.; Mobile
and Montgomery, Ala.; Nashville and Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Lynchburg
and Richmond, Va. Hotel accommodations were relatively nil. And only
because one or more members of the tan contingent had friends in Nashville
and Lynchburg, were they able to obtain decent meals... In one Alabama
city, 'the best place in town' was a linen-less marble counter with
flies and roaches meeting customers at the door." "A
local city ordinance barring Negros from using the clubhouse at Municipal
Stadium served to prove how popular Jim (Buster) Clarkson, veteran Negro
infielder, is with his Milwaukee teammates. When the Brewers arrived
here for an exhibition with the Buffalo Bisons, Jack Tighe, manager
of the International League club, explained apologetically that there
was a sign, "White Only," on the clubhouse door, but that Clarkson could
dress alone in the National Guard armory across the street. The other
Brewers, however, chorused in unison: 'We dress where he[Jim] dresses,'
and followed Clarkson to the armory."
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