Character is a hard trait to define. Some may say that it is best identified by what someone does when no one is watching. One who filled that bill was Jackie Robinson.
During his 10 years in baseball he was no stranger to the word as he nobly but quietly fired the first volley for civil rights.
Robinson, the starting second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, shattered the color barrier in baseball in 1947, and at the same time struck up a lifelong friendship with 7-year-old Ronnie Rabinovitz from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Rabinovitz is still awestruck by the scope of the relationship, why it endured during those years, continued after Robinson left the game and survived his death in 1972.
“We were so different,” he said. “I was white; he was black. I was Jewish; he was a Christian. I was from a small Midwest town; he lived out East. I was a child; he was an adult. But we developed this bond that I can’t explain.” It’s a bond that continues on through Jackie’s wife and daughter.
Rabinovitz’s father initially wrote a fan letter to Jackie asking for an autograph for his young son. One day, the two were among a throng of fans who mobbed Robinson when Brooklyn visited the Milwaukee Braves. They were amazed when Jackie recalled Rabinovitz’s letter.
From then on Robinson encouraged their relationship. Each day Ronnie ran home hoping he would find a reply from his new friend and hero. One day he found a letter resting face down on his bed, the first of 20 letters that he received over the years, he estimates.
“‘I got a letter from Jackie,’ I yelled out,” said Rabinovitz. “As I was reading, I saw my mother standing at my door, smiling.”
Robinson was a lonely man. While it took time to convince some of his teammates that he was there to help win pennants, he still wasn’t allowed to sleep in the same hotel with them.
“Maybe Jackie was just looking for friendship wherever he could find it, and perhaps that’s why we were so close,” said Rabinovitz.
Rabinovitz recalls a story when Jackie accompanied him into the Dodger clubhouse to collect autographs from Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax and Gil Hodges. He was so swept up in the excitement for his friend that he forgot to sign the ball himself.
There were also times after the games when the two were together and Jackie signed baseballs for his young fans. “I never asked for an autograph, a ball or anything,” said Rabinovitz. “I just wanted to be with him. He was just a tremendous human being and a great role model.”
Robinson wasn’t just a great player. He had to endure all the unimaginable racial slurs during those years – without the chance to fight back, but still with the grace and integrity to befriend Rabinovitz.
Growing up in lily-white Sheboygan, Wisconsin, as the now 65-year-old describes it, Rabinowitz knows a bit about prejudice, too.
“I grew up in a German town of about 48,000,” he said. “There were about 350 Jewish families. There was always an undercurrent [of prejudice], but I really did not hear or see too much. When I was young there were kids that sometimes used to call us kikes or sheenies. I had a lot of non-Jewish friends, and sometimes they would say, ‘For a Jew you’re a good guy.’
“They actually believed they were complimenting me.”
But his pain was negligible compared to that of his Dodger hero. “I couldn’t imagine the pressure he was under,” he said. “When I look back at it, he had the pressure of having to prove himself as a rookie. Pitchers were always throwing at his head, people were calling him names on a daily basis; how he could do this with all the bigotry and still concentrate on the game was just amazing.”
It’s the story of his integrity that Rabinovitz wants to keep alive. “I just want everyone to know about him,” he said.
He started telling Jackie’s story in 1987 – the 40th anniversary of his debut in the major leagues. “I wanted to get involved and share the experiences I had with Jackie,” said Rabinovitz. “I go wherever I can to tell those stories.”
Rabinovitz travels an average of twice a month to various high schools. He has even spoken at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
All for his love of Jackie.
Ronnie Rabinovitz can be reached at www.minnesotaspeakers.com.
