I purchased this great photo of Jackie Robinson with the Montreal Royals at a memorabilia store called Mickey’s Place in downtown Cooperstown. It’s licensed by Jackie’s wife Rachel through CMG Worldwide. I hadn’t seen this photo before.

During my trek to Cooperstown two weeks ago, I found two photos of Jackie Robinson with the Montreal Royals that I hadn’t seen before (one above, one below).

This is a photo of Jackie Robinson sliding into second base while he was with the Montreal Royals in 1946. This is on display in the Robinson exhibit in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. I took this photo of the display photo with my digital camera.

Here’s also a short bio I wrote about Robinson for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame website. (Robinson was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991):

Jackie Robinson

Prior to breaking Major League Baseball’s colour barrier in 1947, Jackie Robinson starred at second base for the Montreal Royals, a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team, in 1946. It’s widely believed that Dodgers GM Branch Rickey stationed Robinson in Montreal to ease his young prospect into integrated baseball. Playing his home games in a city with a reputation for racial tolerance provided Robinson with relative tranquility for half the schedule. On the field, Robinson excelled, leading the International League in batting average, walks and runs, and spurring the Royals to their first Junior World Series triumph.

When the Royals clinched the championship at Delorimier Stadium, the fans chanted Robinson’s name and hoisted him on their shoulders. Tears of jubilation spilled from the baseball pioneer’s eyes. He had endured a lot that season. Racism was palpable in International League cities like Syracuse and Baltimore, but the taunts had intensified in Louisville, the city Montreal opposed in the Junior World Series.

After the celebration appeared over, Robinson emerged from the clubhouse, only to have adoring fans chase him down the street, wanting to touch their hero one last time. The scene inspired Pittsburgh Courier correspondent Sam Maltin to write, “It was the first time that a white mob chased a black man down the street, not out of hate, but because of love.” Moved by the affection of Montrealers after the Junior World Series triumph, Robinson remarked, “This is the city for me. This is paradise.” These words have been immortalized on a statue of Robinson that still stands outside of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.

Robinson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1962.