All though I didn't meet him. His legend and his saga and his story is just that. Jackie Robinson, we all have to tip our hat to him. Because he made the game available to guys like me.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Jackie Robinson is a true legend.
I liked Jackie Robinson because he was cool to watch, not because he was black. Every time you turned around, he was hitting a triple or making a great play in the field or, best of all, stealing home.
Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson.
I didn't get to meet Hank Williams. I was in the Air Force on Okinawa when he passed away.
Babe Ruth made a baseball fan of me. I used to go to Yankee Stadium just to see him come to bat.
When I was young, I was obsessed with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. He's the only person I get starstruck over. I don't know what I'd do if I met him - I'd be in shock! That's my dream.
The story of Jackie Robinson is also the story of Branch Rickey. He had many reasons for doing what he did, but he stood up against his own people.
A lot of people who were the best in their fields. I was fortunate enough to be friends with Sammy Davis, Jr. - I spent a lot of time with Sammy. I was over at his house almost every night. Those people were very special and very special for me.
As I look out there and see the culture of baseball, a lot of blacks and Latins, it's given me a lot of joy to know that Jackie started that. If Jackie hadn't come in '47, me and Ron Santo wouldn't have played in Double-A and all those years in the big leagues.
I met Powel Crosley at an All-Star Game in 1935. He was familiar, of course, with our winning record at Rochester. We seemed to hit it off immediately, and the following year, when he was looking for a successor to Larry MacPhail, he thought of me.