In 1945, Jackie Robinson was a Negro League standout in his rookie year with the Kansas City Monarchs, batting .387. Although he excelled in the field and on the base paths, he was not considered the best compared to renowned players such as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. When Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey summoned him to his office, Robinson thought he was being scouted for a new Negro League team, but Rickey was actually testing whether he had the courage and character to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Rickey, shaped by a devout Methodist upbringing on an Ohio farm and known as “religious, righteous and rhetorical,” already knew Robinson had the talent. He urged Robinson to give all he had as a ballplayer, to remain loyal to his race and to the cause he would symbolize, and above all not to fight no matter how vile the abuse, because he would be carrying the reputation of a race on his shoulders. Rickey warned that they had almost no support from owners, umpires, newspapermen, or many fans, and believed they could succeed only if the world could be convinced that Robinson was being chosen because he was a great ballplayer and a fine gentleman.