In 1946, Jackie Robinson joined the AAA Montreal Royals, becoming the first African American to play in the minor leagues and beginning his journey to infamy with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Royals were managed by a Mississippian named Clay Hopper. As one might imagine, he was not very happy with the situation and made it known to Jackie. His teammates were not much more supportive. According to the CBC at the time, Robinson and other members of the Royals organization received death threats and he was often jeered by fans. Indeed, the city was segregated at the time in spite of being considered one of the most cosmopolitan in North America.I bring all this up because I recently saw one of CBC's "Heritage minutes" -- commercial length shorts which show important moments in Canadian history -- featuring Robinson and his debut with the Royals. The thing was so far from the truth it caused me to write a fucking post about it at 5 am on my Michigan football blog. It shows Jackie's first game against New Jersey (actually a road game) with fans and teammates cheering him on as the evil American's intentionally hit him, etc.
Anyway, when the fuck does football start? Argh.
