Jackie Robinson Special--N&W?

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Thu Jul 8 18:11:44 EDT 2010


*I * have been following the rebroadcast of PBS' American Experience/
Ken Burns Baseball. In the most recent segment featuring the Jackie
Robinson story, fleeting *mention is made of the "Jackie Robinson
Special", *a train running in the 1947 season from Norfolk to Cincinnati
for Robinson fans delirious over *Jackie's having been signed by the
Brooklyn Dodgers that year, the first African-American admitted to major
league baseball.** Years before in the Negro Leagues Jackie had played
on the Norfolk team. The "special" ran when the Dodgers played at
Cincinnati.

Sounds like the rail protagonist was the N&W, end to end. Can anyone
confirm?

Has the story ever appeared in The Arrow? If not, isn't it time that it
did?

I'd be glad to work on recovering the story, or collaborate with
others. Anyone know where details might be uncovered? Perhaps news
stories in the Norfolk and Cincinnati newspapers, for a start? Any
Norfolk and Cincinnati people care to inquire?

I googled what I could, and found--again, just a passing reference--a
note (p. 196) in Jules Tygiel's "Baseball's Great Experiment--Jackie
Robinson and His Legacy", 1997 (revised edition), printed on occasion of
the 50th anniversary of Robinson's breaking the color barrier in the
national sport.

So anyone with info or pointers for research, do speak up!

Frank Gibson
*
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