Minor League Baseball

Before Becoming an MLB Pioneer, Jackie Robinson Was a Minor League Idol

In honor of Black History Month, MLB.com retells the story of Jackie Robinson and his spectacular season with the Montreal Royals in 1946.

Jami Leabow

Major League Baseball renovations to Jackie Robinson Training Complex, formerly known as Dodgertown; and Holman Stadium, are seen Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Vero Beach, Fla.
Major League Baseball renovations to Jackie Robinson Training Complex, formerly known as Dodgertown; and Holman Stadium, are seen Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Vero Beach, Fla. / KAILA JONES /TCPALM / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Dodgers great Jackie Robinson was a household name before he broke the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1947.

In Montreal, at least, where the fans accepted and revered him.

That’s where Robinson -- a 27-year old World War II veteran -- led the Royals to what was called the “Junior World Series,” or “Little World Series." It pit two top minor league teams against each other for the championship. It was held from 1931 through 1975.

And in 1946, Robinson’s Royals of the International League defeated the Louisville Colonels of the American Association in six games. The people of Montreal defended their Black star as he faced racism elsewhere throughout the season.

In honor of Black History Month, MLB.com retold the story of Robinson’s appearance in the Little World Series.

The series started in Louisville, where hotels refused to let Robinson stay and the fans welcomed him rudely.

"Everything he did, they booed him," Colonels pitcher Otey Clark said in 2006, per MLB.com. "I remember our pitcher, Jim Wilson, knocked him down and the fans cheered. Robinson didn't seem to pay any attention to any of it."

Still, he got just one hit in 10 at-bats in Louisville. With the Colonels up 2-1, the series shifted to Montreal, where the home fans were furious over how the Louisville faithful responded to him.

"We discovered that the Canadians were up in arms over the way I had been treated," Robinson wrote in “My Own Story,” his autobiography published in 1972. "Greeting us warmly, they let us know how they felt. ... All through that first game [at home] they booed every time a Louisville player came out of the dugout. I didn't approve of this kind of retaliation, but I felt a jubilant sense of gratitude for the way Canadians expressed their feelings."

Three wins later, the Royals were the champs.

Robinson spent just the one season in Montreal before breaking baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. It was one spectacular season as he hit .349, amassing 155 hits in 124 games. He drove in 66, scored 113 runs, stole 40 bases and walked 92 times, striking out just 27.

Robinson was enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1962.

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.