Original subtitles

In 1945, America's greatest generation came back from war.

The flags of freedom fly over Europe.

Nazi Germany had been defeated...

...and three months later, Imperial Japan surrendered as well.

And there's jubilation around this earth.

Men returned home. Among them, some of baseball's most beloved names.

Musial. DiMaggio. Williams.

Life in the United States could return to normal.

- What's the guy's name? - What's on second?

- Who's on second? - Who's on first?

- I don't know. - Third base.

And baseball was proof positive that democracy was real.

A baseball box score, 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.

African Americans had served their country gallantly.

They returned home from fighting to free the world from tyranny...

...only to find racism, segregation and Jim Crow law still waiting at home.

Segregation was the law...

...and no group was more scrupulous in its observance of custom...

...than organized baseball.

There was a long road ahead.

If African Americans dreamed of playing baseball...

...it was not for the Yankees...

...but for teams like the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues...

...where the barnstorming style of play stood in contrast to the Majors.

In 1946, 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 1947, that number dropped to 399...

...and one man stood apart.

Gentlemen, I have a plan.

Plan's good, Mr. Rickey. You always have one.

My wife says I'm too old. Heh, heh.

That my health's not up to it.

My son says, uh, everybody in...

Everybody in baseball is gonna be against me. Heh.

But I'm gonna do it.

Do what, Mr. Rickey?

I'm gonna bring a Negro ballplayer...

...to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

With all due respect, sir, have you lost your mind?

Think... Think about...

Think about the abuse...

...that you are gonna take from the newspapers...

...let alone how this is gonna play out in Flatbush!

Please, Mr. Rickey.

Sit down, Harold.

No law against it, Clyde.

No.

No, but there's a code.

You break a law and get away with it, some people think you're smart.

You break an unwritten law...

...you'll be an outcast.

Mm-hm.

So be it.

New York's full of Negro baseball fans.

Dollars aren't black and white, they're green.

Every dollar's green.

I don't know who he is...

...or where he is...

...but he's coming.

Hey, runner!

Where'd you learn to move like that, at a dime-a-dance night?

Stand still!

There you are!

Ball!

Safe!

Catcher!

When you gonna start throwing for real?

You talking to me?

You got a rag arm, catcher.

Steal home. You'll find out what kind of arm I got.

Okay.

I'm coming.

Where's your shortstop from?

California.

Sure got a mouth on him.

Safe!

Discussions concerning Japan's offer of surrender.

Washington, London, Moscow, and Chungking...

...now framing their decision.

When this decision will be communicated to Tokyo via the government's...

- Fill her up? - Yes, sir.

- You boys heading out? - Uh, Chicago.

Chicago, huh? Heh.

- You boys get around. - Yeah, we sure do.

- Hey. Hey, you, where you going? - To the toilet.

Hell, come on, boy. You know you can't go in there.

Them Cokes are a nickel.

Take that hose out of the tank.

- Robinson. - What?

I said take it out.

We'll get our 99 gallons of gas someplace else.

All right, then. Go on.

Go on! Use it.

Roy Campanella.

Hell of a player. He's too sweet. They'd eat him alive.

All right.

Oh, sorry. Oh, wait. Sorry.

- Satchel Paige, then. - He's too old.

We need a player with a future, not a past.

Here.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson.

Four-sport college man, out of UCLA. That means he's played with white boys.

Playing for the Kansas City Monarchs.

Twenty-six years old. He's batting .350. Three-fifty.

Methodist.

Commissioned Army officer.

He was court-martialed.

He's a troublemaker.

Well, he argues with umpires.

A quick temper is his reputation.

Well, what was he court-martialed for?

Wouldn't sit in the back of a military bus. Fort Hood, Texas.

Driver asked him to, uh, move back.

MPs had to take him off.

There, you see?

I see he resents segregation.

If he were white, we'd call that spirit.

Robinson's a Methodist.

I'm a Methodist. God's a Methodist.

We can't go wrong. Find him.

Bring him here.

How are you, fellas? I'm looking for your, uh, shortstop.

You Jackie Robinson?

Who are you?

Mr. Rickey.

What's this about?

This is about baseball, Jackie.

I see you starting in spring with our affiliate in Montreal.

If you make it there...

...we'll try you down here...

...with the Dodgers.

With the white Brooklyn Dodgers.

Hmm.

I'll pay you $600 a month.

And a $3500 bonus when you sign the contract.

That agreeable?

- Yes, that's fine but... - 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?

My temper?

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!

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

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 our Savior...

...you gotta have the guts...

...to turn the other cheek.

Can you do it?

You give me a uniform...

...you give me a, heh, number on my back...

...and I'll give you the guts.

Hello?

Rae...

Jack.

I'm in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn? For what?

Uh...

I don't want to say on the phone.

In fact, I'm not supposed to tell anyone.

What's going on? Aren't you supposed to be playing in Chicago?

We've been tested, you and me.

We've done everything the right way. We have.

Me trying to make money, you finishing school.

We don't owe the world a thing.

Only each other.

Jack, what are you talking about? What is going on? What happened?

Will you marry me, Rae?

Absolutely.

Yes. Yes.

When?

Um...

How about right now?

Did my mom look happy?

Yes. You know your mother loves me.

Did my gram look happy?

Yes.

My brother look happy?

- Heh, your brother? - Ha, ha.

Everyone looked happy. I've never seen so many happy-looking people.

Did Jack Robinson look happy?

What if I can't make you happy?

Too late.

You already do.

It's you and me, Rae.

Ooh, ha, ha.

Um...

- Till the wheels fall off. - Hmm.

Oh, Jack, the world is waiting for us.

The world can wait one more night.

Are you coming, Mrs. Robinson?

I'd follow you anywhere, Mr. Robinson.

Okay.

Okay.

Flight to Pensacola leaves in an hour.

Flight to Pensacola leaves in an hour.

"Flight to Pensacola leaves in an hour. Flight to Pensacola leaves in an hour."

Are you okay?

I've just never seen one before.

Oh.

Yeah, we're not in Pasadena anymore.

Rae?

Rae?

Rae!

Oh, boy.

We have to lighten the plane.

There's some bad weather east of here.

A heavy plane is dangerous.

So someone'll have to cancel.

Look, I'm with the Brooklyn Dodger organization.

I have to get down to Daytona.

I'm supposed to report to spring training in the morning.

We'll do our best to get you there by tomorrow, but it might be the day after.

- Jack. - Right this way.

You gave away our seats?

You get us back on that plane.

You get us back on that plane right now.

Do you wanna call the sheriff...

...or should I?

Watch your step.

Oop, there he is. There's my boy.

Folks, stand back, we'll get the bags out.

Jackie Robinson.

Wendell Smith.

Pittsburgh Courier.

A reporter?

Mr. Rickey sent me to meet you. I'm gonna be your Boswell.

My who?

Your chronicler.

Your advance man.

Hell, even your chauffeur.

Mrs. Robinson.

It's Rachel.

Man, you two looked wiped out.

You got a car?

Uh-huh.

Brooklyn plays downtown. Montreal just a few blocks from here.

Joe and Duff Harris live here.

He gets out the Negro vote. He does a lot of good for colored people.

Now, Mr. Rickey set it up himself.

"If the Robinsons can't stay at the hotels...

...they should stay someplace that represents something."

You'll stay here all but a few days at the end of the week...

...when the Dodger organization goes to Sanford. It's about 45 minutes away.

You'll stay here, Rachel.

This'll be your home when Jackie has to travel.

Uh, where are the other wives staying?

Welcome to Daytona Beach.

- There are no other wives. - You must be Jackie.

You're the only one that Mr. Rickey allowed to spring training.

- Thank you. - Mm-hm. After you.

Come on, now, skip.

All right, here we go, boys!

- I got it! I got it! - I got it!

That was a pretty big hop, there.

- You got the hop! - Ha, ha.

Spring training. It's where we work out our differences.

All right!

You boys continue to pretend you're ballplayers.

- Morning, Leo. - Good morning, Mr. Rickey.

How are they doing?

They're rusty, but we'll have them oiled up in no time, ready to go.

Oop.

First day of spring training.

Pittsburgh Courier readers need to know how it feels.

It's okay.

That's not exactly a headline.

It's all I got.

Look, Jack, right now, it's just me asking you.

But there's gonna be The New York Times and the Sporting News.

- You should think about it. - If they ask something, I'll answer it.

Okay, well here's one for you:

What if one of these white pitchers throws at you?

Look, they're gonna try to get under your skin. You need to be ready.

Listen, listen.

You know...

You know how when you're at the plate...

...you want to see the ball come in slow?

You want to see these questions come in slow too.

Hey, Jackie. Jackie, you think you can make it with these white boys?

Uh, I had no problems with white men in the service or at UCLA.

What you gonna do if one of these pitchers throws at your head?

Yeah, Jack.

- I'll duck. - Heh, that's a good one.

Hey, Jack, what's your natural position?

I've been playing shortstop.

Are you after Pee Wee Reese's job?

Uh...

Reese plays for Brooklyn.

I'm still trying to make Montreal.

Hey, Jack. Hey, Jack, is this about politics?

It's about getting paid.

"About getting paid." Hear what he said? "it's about getting paid."

He's gotta be kidding.

Yeah. Good luck, Hop.

Clay, Jackie Robinson.

Jackie, I'd like you to meet Clay Hopper. Manager of the Montreal Royals.

Jack. They call me Hop.

Now, we ain't doing much today. Just tossing the ball around, hitting a few.

You can probably toss with those fellows over there.

Jorgensen, come here!

You're not playing him at shortstop, huh, Clay?

Oh, he's getting by on a quick release. His arm's too weak for short.

I think second base is his spot.

I agree.

Clay...

...I need you to get the other players to act like gentlemen around him.

Treat him like they would any other teammate.

Hmm, mm-hm.

- Be natural, work together in harmony. - Mm-hm.

Got the double up!

That was practically superhuman.

Heh, "superhuman"?

I mean, don't get carried away, Mr. Rickey.

That's still a nigger out there.

Come on in now. Grab a bat. Who's up?

Nice job, boys!

Clay, I realize that attitude is part of your cultural heritage.

That you practically nursed race prejudice at your mother's breast...

...so I'll let that go.

But I will tell you this:

You will either manage Robinson fairly and correctly...

...or you, sir, can be unemployed.

Yes, sir.

Let's go! Come on, guys, let's go!

Way to turn two, Jackie.

Well, well, lookie here.

Jackie, I'm Mr. Brock.

Welcome to Sanford, Florida.

Thank you for having us.

The day belongs to decent-minded people.

- Wendell, always good to see you. - You as well.

Yeah, well, the wife's inside cooking.

You know what she asked me? She asked me this morning:

What do you serve when a hero's coming to dinner?

Heh, um, Mr. Brock, I'm just a ballplayer.

Oh, no, no.

You tell that to all the little colored boys playing baseball in Florida today.

To them, you a hero.

- Here you go, ma'am. - Thank you, sir.

Here you go.

Scorecards, get your scorecards here!

Scorecards here! Get your scorecards here!

Ed! You stay where I can see you.

Mom, I'm 10 years old!

Come on.

Welcome to the inner-league game between the Brooklyn Dodgers...

...and their Minor League affiliate, the Montreal Royals.

There you go, Pee Wee!

Now coming to bat for the Royals...

...number nine, Jackie Robinson.

Get out of here!

Stand up tall, Jackie!

Get out, nigger!

Jack's got a thick skin. He'll be okay.

Well, how about you?

I better get one in a hurry, heh.

Have pride, Jackie!

Look. Look, there he is, black as the ace of spades!

Hey, nigger boy! What are you doing playing baseball?

Hit a home run, Jackie!

Please, God, let Jackie show them what we can do.

- Please. - All right, now, Jackie Robinson!

Let's go, Jackie!

Come on, Jackie!

Ball!

They're giving you a chance! Do something about it!

Let's go, Higbe! Shut him down right here!

Ball!

Durocher, tell him to throw some strikes!

Let him hit!

Come on now, come on now!

He ain't scared of you, Higbe!

You show him, Jackie!

Ball!

Come on, rook. Ain't you gonna swing at something?

Higbe, just settle down. Let's get the ball over the plate now, all right?

Ball four!

You stink, Higbe!

It's just a walk.

Ha, ha, who can blame them?

Good job, Jackie.

Now coming to bat for the Royals...

...number 3, Spider Jorgensen.

Let's go, Hig!

All right, Higbe, shake it off, there.

We got this, boy. We got this, boy. Let's do it.

Well, throw it over there! What are you waiting for?

Safe!

Come on, pop up, Jack.

Ball one!

Yeah, Jackie!

Heads up, Jack. Get the sign.

- He's going! - Runner! Runner!

- Come on, move! - Get back!

Get him, Schultzy! Get him, Schultzy!

Here we go!

What are you gonna do now? Come on!

Outside! Outside!

On your horse, Bragan! On your horse! Outside!

- Now! - Go, Stanky! Go, Stank!

Ooh.

Hey, all right!

Hey! Don't you know nothing?

You're supposed to get back when I step off.

What are you doing? You can dance with him later! Focus on the plate!

Come on, now! Work the plate! Work the plate!

Come on, Higbe, don't worry about the runner. Get this guy at the plate.

Timeout!

That's a balk.

Runner, take home.

Son of a bitch.

He didn't come to play, he came to kill.

What happened? I don't understand.

The pitcher dropped the ball. It's a balk. Therefore, Jackie scores.

But he didn't do anything.

Oh, Mama, yes, he did. He discombobulated the man.

He... What?

Phew.

I hope Jackie's sleeping all right.

Chasing baseballs in the sun all day? Put me in my grave.

- How they treating him out there? - Well, they treat him okay.

As far as I can see.

Well, you can find good people every place.

Even here in Sanford.

Is he in there?

Who is it that you're looking for?

The Nigra ballplayer.

Is he in there?

He's asleep right now.

Maybe you wanna come back in the morning.

No, I ain't coming back.

Other fellas is coming.

And they ain't happy that he's staying here in Sanford...

...playing ball with white boys.

- Now, let me tell you something, sir. - No, you listen to me, young man.

You best just skedaddle on out of here.

Because if they get here and he's still here...

...there's gonna be trouble.

You understand?

Trouble.

Trouble, trouble, trouble.

Mr. Brock.

May I please use your telephone?

Wake him up and get him out of there.

Put him in the car and, uh, start driving to Daytona Beach. Now.

Uh, oh, and, uh, Wendell...

...under no circumstances are you to tell him what this is about, uh...

I don't want him getting it in his head...

...to stay there and fight.

Where's he at?

I don't know. Think he's getting another one.

Hey, Jim. You escorting that boy out of town?

Hey, look at this.

What's that?

What's he want?

Hey, hey, hey!

What the hell, Wendell?

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.

Why didn't you say so?

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

Man, what in the hell are you laughing at?

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

You got a strange sense of humor, man.

Two, two, two! Take him back. Throw him out now!

Safe!

You're too fast for them, Jackie!

All right, way to go. Way to go, boy!

Get that nigger off the field!

Come on, Spider, bring him in. Let's go.

We got him.

Four! Four! Four!

- No cut! - He's running through!

Safe!

Get off the field.

- What? - Get off the field. Now.

- Why? - Because it's against the law, that's why.

No nigger's gonna play with white boys.

Now you get off the field, or go to jail.

You use that thing, you better hit me between the eyes.

Hey, hold on, now. What'd he do wrong?

We ain't having no Nigrae mix with white boys in this town.

Y'all ain't up-states now. They gotta keep separate.

The Brooklyn Dodgers ain't changing our way of living.

Where y'all from, anyhow?

I'm from Greenwood, Mississippi.

Ha, ha, hell, boy, you ought to know better.

Now, you tell your Nigra I said to git.

What did you do?

Oh, I said:

"Okay, skipper. I'm a-gitting, I'm a-gitting, I'm a-gitting.

- You don't want no trouble." - You did not!

- Yes, I did. Yes, I did. - Ha, ha.

Then I took a cold shower.

We lost two to one.

Aw.

Okay, skipper. I'm a-gitting, I'm a-gitting.

Oh, no, you not getting away from me.

Jack.

Get back, Rae.

I want you to know something.

Yeah, what's that?

I want you to know I'm pulling for you to make good.

A lot of folks around here feel the same way.

If a man's got the goods, he deserves a fair chance, that's all.

Ma'am.

You wanted to see me, Mr. Rickey?

Bermuda grass grows so well here.

I wish we could get it to grow like this up in Brooklyn.

Yeah.

I like the way it smells when they mow it.

Heh, me too.

Jackie...

...it is my pleasure...

...to tell you that you have earned a place with the Montreal Royals.

When they head north on Tuesday for opening day with Jersey City...

...you'll be on the train.

I won't let you down.

Yeah, I know you won't.

If you don't mind, I'd like to go tell my wife.

Ah, you give her my regards.

Mr. Rickey?

Why are you doing this?

I'm in the baseball business.

With you and the other Negro players I hope to bring up next year...

...I can put together a team that can win the World Series.

And the World Series means money.

You believe that, don't you?

I don't think it matters what I believe.

Only what I do.

Agreed.

Therefore...

...I want you to worry those pitchers till they come apart.

Run as you see fit.

Sometimes you'll get caught, but that doesn't matter.

Ty Cobb got caught plenty.

You just run those bases like the devil himself.

Put the natural fear of God in them.

Yes, sir.

Train for Atlanta and points north now boarding.

Train for Atlanta and points north now boarding.

There he is.

All aboard!

Young man.

I can still hear him.

I can still hear him!

Play ball!

And now the lineup of the visiting Montreal Royals.

Batting first, playing center field, Marv Rackley.

Batting second, playing second base, Jackie Robinson.

Batting third, playing left field, George Shuba.

Hey, you okay?

I think I might be sick.

Excuse me, Wendell.

Popcorn! Get your popcorn!

You all right, honey?

I'm sick.

Don't know why.

Mm, thank you.

When did you have your monthly last?

It may be that you're pregnant.

Now batting for Montreal, number 9, Jackie Robinson.

Come on, Jack!

Come on, Jackie.

- Come on, batter. - Put it here!

Whoo!

He may be superhuman after all.

Way to go.

Oh, Jack.

Yeah.

My daddy left. Heh.

He left us flat...

...in Cairo, Georgia.

I was only six months older than you are now.

I don't remember him.

Nothing good, nothing bad.

Nothing.

You will remember me.

I'm gonna be here with you till the day I die.

Yeah.

Hello, Leo.

What are you doing?

I'm bowling.

No, I'm snowshoeing in the Alps.

I'm trying to sleep, Mr. Rickey. It's still dark out.

Another spring training is upon us, Leo. In Panama.

I need to know your attitude towards Jackie Robinson.

I don't got an attitude toward him.

Eight times in the Bible we're told to love our neighbor as ourself.

It's one of God's most repeated commands.

Well, I don't know much about the Bible.

But I didn't go to school just to eat my lunch.

I'll play an elephant if he can help us win...

...and to make room for him, I'll send my own brother home.

Oh, what are you gonna do with me?

We're playing for money here. Winning is the only thing that matters.

Is he a nice guy?

Well, if by nice you mean soft, no.

No, not particularly.

Good, he can't afford to be.

- Nice guys finish last. - And what about nice girls?

So you have no objection to him?

None whatsoever. Can I go back to sleep now?

- Yes. - All right.

- Oh, and Leo. - What?

The Bible has a thing or two to say about adultery as well.

I'm sure it's got a lot to say about a lot. Good night.

What am I gonna do with you?

I thought you knew.

You gonna take care of your mama?

No? You better.

Mm-hm.

You gonna take care of my mama?

Come here, baby.

- There you go. - Come here, baby, I got you.

Promise me you'll write?

When have I ever not written?

I want you to know I'm there for you, even if it's words on paper.

Rae...

...you're in my heart.

You're getting close now, and the closer you get, the worse they'll be.

Don't let them get to you.

I won't.

God built me to last.

Hmm.

I'll see you in Brooklyn in eight weeks, oh.

It might be Montreal.

It's gonna be Brooklyn.

I know it is.

Why do you think Rickey's got us playing spring games here in Panama, huh?

He wants us to get used to Negro crowds.

He wants more of them than there are of us.

And he's hoping it'll make us more comfortable being around Robinson.

Ahem. All right, ahem.

Listen up. This is what I got.

"We, the undersigned Brooklyn Dodgers, will not play ball...

...on the same field as Jackie Robinson."

That's right.

Kirby Higbe.

- I'll sign that. - All right.

Brooklyn Dodger Declaration of Independence.

That's right.

Give me that.

- Y'all sure about this? - You wanna play ball with a nigger?

Skip's got you out in left?

- Yeah, for today. - Hey, Robinson.

- What do you want me to do with this? - Well, you play fi