Good changes that were resisted

[MLB~NUT]

On MLK Day, it's good to recall how slow was desegregation in sports. At least a decade after Jackie Robinson, an average or utility MLB player had to be white; desegregation was limited to star-caliber players. Anyone who reads Aaron's autobiography "If I had a Hammer" will be chilled by reading the innumerable racist death threats sent to him and his family-(including an apparent kidnapping plot against his daughter)-in the early 1970's.

In football, it was also slow in places. In 1966, UGA athletic officials said the alumni weren't "ready" for UGA teams that weren't all white. In the early 1960's the Washington Redskins wanted to court a Southeastern fan base by keeping an all-white team. After they went 1-12-1 one year, they soon abandoned this all-white policy.

Cool, a new book for me to read!!!

[JDubbs73]

In the early 1960's the Washington Redskins wanted to court a Southeastern fan base by keeping an all-white team. After they went 1-12-1 one year, they soon abandoned this all-white policy.

I just learned something today, did not know this as a 'Skins fan.

[coxfan]

Aaron's autobiography is "I had a Hammer" (with Lonnie Wheeler, Published by Harper, 1991). I wasn't home when I typed my post, and mentally inserted the "If" in its title.

My memory on the Redskins was correct. Their last all-white season was 1961, when they went 1-12-1 and simultaneously came under pressure to integrate from the newly-installed JFK administration (since the US government owned their playing facility.)

[godwulf]

Went to the movies on Sunday, and saw a trailer for a new film coming out soon. It's called "42", and is the Jackie Robinson story. Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. Kind of hard to believe (and correct me if I'm wrong), but there hasn't been a movie about Jackie Robinson since he starred as himself in "The Jackie Robinson Story" in 1950!