42 Quotes

Mr. Brock Well, the wife's inside cookin'. You know what she asked me? She asked me this mornin', "What do you serve when a hero comes to dinner?

Jackie Robinson Um, Mr. Brock, I'm just a ball player.

Mr. Brock Oh no no, you tell that to the little colored boys playin baseball in Florida today. To them, you a hero.

Ben Chapman Why don'tcha look in'a mirror? This'a white man's game, alright, get that THROUGH YOUR THICK MONKEY SKULL!

Rachel Robinson Look at me baby. Look at me baby look at me.

Robinson No! No. Next white son of a bitch that opens his mouth I'll smash his goddamn teeth in.

Branch Rickey You can't do that Jack.

Jackie Robinson So I'm supposed to just let this go on?

Branch Rickey These men have to live with themselves.

Jackie Robinson I have to live with myself, too! And right now I'm living a sermon out there.

Branch Rickey You don't matter now Jack. You're in this thing. You don't have a right to pull out from the backing of people that believe in you, that respect you, that need you. If you fight, they won't say that Chapman forced you to, they'll say that you're... in over your head, that you don't belong here.

Jackie Robinson You don't know what it's like having somebody do this to you.

Branch Rickey No. No. You do. You're the one living the sermon. ] All of it. Only you.

Jackie Robinson Not a goddam thing I can do about it...

Branch Rickey Of course there is, you can get on there... and hit... you can get on base and- and score, you can win this game for us. Everybody needs you, you're a medicine, Jack.

Jackie Robinson I'm takin the field.

Branch Rickey Who's playing first?

Jackie Robinson I'm gonna need a new bat.

Jackie Robinson Mr. Rickey. What's this about?

Branch Rickey This is about baseball, Jackie. I see you starting in spring with ]. If you make it there, we'll try you down here... with the Dodgers. With the white ]. Hmm.

Branch Rickey I'll pay you $600 a month. And a $3500 bonus when you sign the contract. That agreeable?

Jackie Robinson Yes, that's fine but-

Branch Rickey There's one condition. I know you can hit behind the runner. That you can read a pitch. One question is, can you control your temper?

Jackie Robinson My temper?

Branch Rickey Yes, your temper! What are you, deaf? A black man in white baseball, heh, can you imagine the reaction? The vitriol? Dodgers check into a hotel, a, uh, a decent, good hotel. You're worn out from the road. Some clerk won't give you the pen to sign in with. "We got no room for you, boy. Not even down in the coal bin where you belong." Team stops at a restaurant. Waiter won't take your order. "Didn't you see the sign on the door? No niggers allowed." What are you gonna do then? Fight him? Ruin all my plans? Answer me, you black son of a bitch!

Jackie Robinson You want a player who doesn't have the guts to fight back?

Branch Rickey No. No. I want a player who's got the guts not to fight back. People aren't gonna like this. They're gonna do anything to get you to react. Echo a curse with a curse and, uh, they'll hear only yours. Follow a blow with a blow and they'll say, "The Negro lost his temper." That "The Negro does not belong." Your enemy will be out in force... and you cannot meet him on his own low ground. We win with hitting, running, fielding. Only that. We win if the world is convinced of two things: That you are a fine gentleman and a great baseball player. Like ]... you gotta have the guts... to ]. Can you do it?

Jackie Robinson You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back, I'll give you the guts.

Leo Durocher Wake up, now ladies! Wake up! It has come to my attention that some of you fellas don't wanna play with Robinson. That you've even got a petition you've drawn up and you're all going to sign. Well boys you know what you can do with your petition you can wipe your asses with it.

Dixie Walker Oh come on, Leo...

Leo Durocher Come on what?

Dixie Walker Ballplayers gotta live together, shower together. It ain't fair to force him on us like this. Besides I got a hardware store back home-

Leo Durocher Screw your hardware store, Dix. And if you don't like it, screw you. Mr. Rickey would be happy to make other arrangements for you. Now, I don't care if he is yellow or black or has stripes like a zebra. If Robinson can help us win, and everything I have seen says he can, then he is gonna play ON THIS BALL CLUB. LIKE IT, LUMP IT, MAKE YOUR MINDS UP TO IT, BECAUSE HE'S COMING! And think about this when your heads hit the pillows tonight: He's only the first, boys. Only the first. There are more coming right behind him every day and they have got talent, and they wanna play. Oh yeah, they are gonna come scratching and diving. So, I would forget your petition and worry about the field because unless you fellas pay a little more attention to your work, THEY'RE GONNA RUN YOU RIGHT OUT OF THE BALLPARK!

Pee Wee Reese They can say all they want. We're just here to play ball.

Jackie Robinson It's just a bunch of crackpots still fighting the Civil War.

Pee Wee Reese Well hell, we'd have won that son of a gun if the cornstalks would have held out. We just ran out of ammunition.

Jackie Robinson Better luck next time, Pee Wee.

Pee Wee Reese Ain't gonna be a next time, Jackie. All we got's right here. Right now. You know what I mean? Thank you, Jackie.

Jackie Robinson What are you thanking me for?

Pee Wee Reese I got family up there from Louisville. I need them to know. I need them to know who I am.

Umpire Hey, number 1! You playing ball or socializing?

Pee Wee Reese Playing ball, ump! Playing ball. ]. That way they don't tell us apart.

Barber But it wasn't enough... ...as the Cardinals tied it up with two of their own in the 9th. This game is crucial to the Red Birds. They are five games out... ...with the Dodgers not having relinquished first place since June 30th. They call him "Country." Slaughter's hitless in four trips. "Fireman" Casey in his second inning of relief. This game is just as tight as a new pair of shoes on a rainy day. Casey goes into his windup. Slaughter hits a hard ground ball right at Reese, who fires it over to Jack at first.

Barber Oh, my! Robinson is down. Slaughter spiked him high up on the leg and he is down.

Man 2 Goddamn it! You knew what you were doing! You spiked my guy! Get up, Jackie. Get him up, boys, get him up. Stay off it. Team doc will be out. Hugh, next guy up, you hit him right in the head. You clean his clock.

Jackie Robinson No. Get me up.

Man 3 No, lay down, man. You're staying.

Jackie Robinson No. Get me up!

Jackie Robinson Just get him out. Just get him out. Understand? Game's too important. Just get him out. Go play ball.

Jackie Robinson What the hell, Wendell?

Wendell Smith A man came by while you was asleep. He said more men were coming. It might have been those fellas. Mr. Rickey said to get you to Daytona Beach ASAP.

Jackie Robinson Why didn't you say so?

Wendell Smith Well, Mr. Rickey was afraid you wouldn't want to leave. You'd want to stay there and fight.

Wendell Smith Man, what in the hell are you laughing at?

Jackie Robinson I thought you woke me because, because I was cut from the team.

Barber Fritz Ostermueller on the mound. He's 12-8 on the season. A big game today in Pittsburgh. A win and the Dodgers will have clinched the National League pennant... ...Yankees having already clinched in the American League. There's bad blood here... ...as Ostermueller beaned Robinson in the head earlier in the season... ...prompting quite a rhubarb at the time. Teams have gone their separate ways since... ...with Ostermueller left standingin the Dodgers way... ...as they chase the pennant that eluded them last year. Here comes the pitch. And Robinson takes outside. Ball one.

Pittsburgh player Come on, Fritz, let's get this boy!

Fritz Ostemueller You don't belong here. And you never will.

Barber Robinson crowding the plate. Jack hasn't backed down to a pitcher all season.

Man There you go, Jackie!

Dodgers player You got nothing for him, Ostermueller! But he's got something for you!

Barber Ostermueller winds and throws. Low and away, ball two. Fritz seems to be pitching around Jackie... ...or as they say in the trade, trying to get him to chase. Robinson's having a fine rookie standard... ...batting .301 with 31 doubles and 10 home runs. He has stolen 27 bases this season and has yet to be thrown out attempting. Needless to say, Ostermueller being careful with him. (OVER RADIO) It's 3-0 now. Robinson patient, waiting for something he can swing on.

Jackie Robinson Give me something. Give me something I can hit.

Fritz Ostemueller You want it?

Jackie Robinson What are you afraid of?

Barber Ostermueller looking in for the sign.

Fritz Ostemueller Be careful what you ask for, boy.

Barber And here comes the pitch. Oh, and that's a deep fly ball to left. Kiner on his horse, I don't think he'll get there. Back, back, back, and... Oh, ho, ho, doctor! Robinson got his pitch! It's a home run. (CHEERING) And barring a miracle comeback... ...the Dodgers are going to the World Series! (ALL CHEERING) He did it, he did it! (CROWD CHEERING) Jack in his home run trot now, and the home crowd here at Forbes... ..recognizing something special when they see it. All the same, I can practically hear the roar...from the heart of Flatbush back in Brooklyn.

Wendell Smith Robinson rounds third... .headed for home, sweet home.

Branch Rickey What can I do for you, Pee Wee?

Pee Wee Reese Well, Mr. Rickey, it's like this. The series in Cincinnati next week?

Branch Rickey Yes. Important road trip. We're only three games out of first.

Pee Wee Reese Yes, sir. Now, you know I'm from Kentucky.

Branch Rickey Then Cincinnati will nearly be a home game for you.

Pee Wee Reese Well... ..I got this letter. Apparently, some people aren't too happy about me playing with Robinson.

Branch Rickey Huh? "Nigger lover. Watch yourself. We'll get you, carpetbagger." Pretty typical stuff.

Pee Wee Reese Well, it's not typical to me, sir.

Branch Rickey How many of those letters have you gotten, Pee Wee?

Pee Wee Reese Just the one. Ain't that enough? What are those?

Branch Rickey Well, I'll tell you what they aren't. They aren't letters from the Jackie Robinson fan club.

Pee Wee Reese Get out of baseball or your baby boy will die." "Quit baseball or your nigger wife..." "Get out of the game or be killed." Does Jackie know?

Branch Rickey Well, of course he does. And the FBI. They're taking a threat in Cincinnati pretty seriously. So excuse me if I don't get too upset about you getting called a carpetbagger. You should be proud.

Pee Wee Reese Well, I'd just like to play ball, sir. That's all.

Branch Rickey Oh, I understand. I bet Jackie just wants to play ball. I bet he wishes he wasn't leading the League in hit by pitch. I bet he wishes people didn't want to kill him. The world's not so simple anymore. Guess it never was. We just, uh... Baseball ignored it, now we can't.

Jackie Robinson Why'd you do this Mr. Rickey?

Branch Rickey We had a victory over fascism in Germany. It's time we had a victory over racism here.

Jackie Robinson No. Why? Why'd YOU do it? Come on.

Branch Rickey I love this game. I love baseball. Given my whole life to it. 40 odd years ago I was a player-coach at ]. We had a Negro catcher. Best hitter on the team. Charlie Thomas. Fine young man. I saw him laid low, broken because of the color of his skin and I didn't do enough to help. Told myself I did but I didn't. There was something unfair at the heart of the game I loved and I ignored it. But a time came when I could no longer do that. You... you let me love baseball again.

Jackie Robinson Taxi!

Wendell Smith Hey, Jack.

Jackie Robinson You again.

Wendell Smith That's right. Me again. There something wrong with that, Jack?

Jackie Robinson Where's the car?

Wendell Smith Right this way. They can't keep you in Montreal for long. After these exhibition games, they're gonna have to bring you up. You don't have two words to rub together, do you?

Wendell Smith You ever wonder why I sit down behind third base, with my typewriter on my knees? Does that ever cross your mind? It's because Negro reporters aren't allowed in the press box. So guess what? You, Mr. Robinson, are not the only one with something at stake here.

Jackie Robinson I apologize. You've been there for me through this... ...more than anyone besides Rae and Mr. Rickey. But I guess that's what bothers me.

Wendell Smith How do you mean?

Jackie Robinson I don't like needing someone to be there for me. I don't like needing anyone for anything. I never have.

Wendell Smith You a hard case, Jack Robinson. Hey. Is it okay if I keep driving you, or should I let you get out so you can walk? Hmm?

Tagline In a game divided by color, he made us see greatness.

Wendell Smith In 1945, America's greatest generation came back from war. (The flags of freedom fly over Europe.)

Smith Nazi Germany had been defeated...and three months later, Imperial Japan surrendered as well. (And there's jubilation around this earth.)

Smith Men returned home. Among them, some of baseball's most beloved names. ]. ]. ]. Life in the United States could return to normal. (TV clip: What's the guy's name? What's on second? Who's on second? Who's on first? I don't know. Third base

Smith And baseball was proof positive that democracy was real. A ], after all, is a democratic thing. It doesn't say how big you are or what religion you follow. It does not know how you voted or the color of your skin. It simply states what kind of ballplayer you were on any particular day. (And he did it. It's a home run. They knew he'd do it.)

Smith African Americans had served their country gallantly. They returned home from fighting to free the world from tyranny, only to find racism, segregation and ] still waiting at home. (Segregation was the law, and no group was more scrupulous in its observance of custom, than organized baseball.)

Smith There was a long road ahead. If African Americans dreamed of playing baseball, it was not for the Yankees, but for teams like the ] of the ], where the barnstorming style of play stood in contrast to the Majors. In ], there were 16 Major League baseball teams, with a total of 400 players on their rosters. Every one of the 400 players were white. But when opening day came in ], that number dropped to 399, and one man stood apart.