Читать книгу Jackie Robinson онлайн

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Even though he faced this bias Jackie had a good season with Montreal. He was the best hitter in the league. The next year, the Dodgers decided that he was good enough to play in the major leagues. The team trained in Cuba and Panama, where they were safe from Jim Crow laws. In 1948, they trained in the Dominican Republic for the same reason. Then the team bought land in Vero Beach, Florida, so that the team could train and play exhibition games but not have to follow most Jim Crow laws.

Because other major league teams trained in Florida cities that still opposed black players competing with white players, the Dodgers played most of their exhibition games in other states.

By 1949, Jackie and the Dodgers were even more tired of the effect of Jim Crow laws. In January, the team announced their plan to play exhibition games in Florida and other states in the American South. They said that Jackie and Campanella would play in those games. If any city or state tried to prevent them, they would cancel the games. They said this meant the city and state would lose out on the money those games might bring them.