First Spring Training

During Billy Rowe's account of the Royals' first spring training with Robinson, a game in Sanford, Florida, turned into a stark confrontation with segregation after Robinson got a hit, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball, and stole home, only to be ordered off the field by a policeman because local law prohibited Blacks from playing with whites; Black fans then left in protest, which Rowe remembered as the first demonstration of racial togetherness he had witnessed. Later that spring training, a game in DeLand featuring Jackie Robinson and Johnny Wright was canceled with faulty lighting given as the reason even though it was to be played in daylight, and a trip to Jacksonville ended with the ballpark gates locked because, according to a city official, local laws would not allow Negroes and whites to play on the same field. The remaining scheduled games featuring Robinson and Wright were moved to Daytona Beach.

Daytona Beach, Florida · United States