For most of us who didn’t live through Jackie Robinson’s first day in the major leagues, black and white images have embedded it in our memories. A stark snapshot of Robinson in his Brooklyn Dodgers cap, or frames of newsreel footage showing him running the bases.
According to Jonathan Eig’s new book, Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season, when Robinson awoke early that day at Manhattan’s McAlpin Hotel, the sight before him, his wife, Rachel, and five-month-old son, Jack, Jr., was vivid and suggested anything but the historic day that was upon him.
“The room was a mess, with diapers drying on the shower rod, baby bottles sitting on the bathroom sink, and a small, electric stove perched precariously atop one of their trunks on the floor,” Eig wrote. “Silverware and dishes were often shoved under the bed, out of sight, in case a newspaper reporter dropped by. Though [Dodger general manager] Branch Rickey had tried to think of everything, it would appear he hadn’t given much consideration to the Robinsons’ living arrangements, which were growing more difficult by the day.”
