â
âI did,â the commissioner replied. âHe was seen in Havana with known gamblers.â
Rickey laughed. âAnyone who sets foot in Havana is seen with known gamblers.â Which was true, though he knew Durocher was worse about it than most. He was a great coach, but he did like his card games. Among other amusements.
âItâs not just one thing,â Happy explained, âitâs an accumulation. I received notice today from the Catholic Youth Organization, vowing a ban on baseball unless Durocher is punished for his moral looseness.â
âYouâre joking.â But Rickey could tell he wasnât. And he had a bad feeling he knew where this was going.
Sure enough, Happy continued, âItâs this business with the actress in California. Sheâs recently divorced and Durocher is the cause. They may even be illegally married.â
Rickey shook his head. âNow Iâm sure youâre joking.â What was Durocher thinking? Heâd tried to warn the man about seeing that actress, but did Leo listen? Of course not!
âI wish I were,â Happy said. He sounded as insincere as ever, though. Rickey knew that the commissioner had never been one of Durocherâs biggest fans. It didnât help that Happy was a good friend of Larry MacPhail, the new Yankees owner â and that MacPhail and Durocher had been trading insults ever since the Yankees had stolen away two of their coaches. Leo had some pretty choice words for MacPhail, and now it looked like MacPhail may have called on his buddy to help him even the score. Though it apparently wasnât just about that feud, as Happy was quick to point out. âThe CYO buy a lot of tickets, Branch. They draw a lot of water, and I canât afford to ruffle their feathers. Am I mixing metaphors there?â
Rickey sighed. âYou know very well my organization is about to enter a tempest,â he admitted to Happy. âI need Durocher at the rudder. Heâs the only man who can handle this much trouble â who loves it, in fact. Youâre chopping off my right hand!â
But his plea fell on deaf ears. âI have no choice,â Happy claimed. âIâm going to have to sit your manager, Branch. Leo Durocher is suspended from baseball for a year.â
âYou canât do that!â Rickey hollered into the phone, finally losing his temper. âHappy, you ââ But he was talking to a dial tone. Rickey steadied himself, then glanced up at Parrott. âTrouble ahead, Harold,â he told his employee. âTrouble.â
Still, Rickey wasnât about to let losing Durocher derail his plans. That was why, the following morning, the ring of a phone woke Jackie in his hotel room.
âHello?â he said after grasping for the receiver and getting it somewhere near his mouth.
âMr. Robinson,â a woman replied, sounding far too awake for this early in the morning. âItâs Jane Ann, in Mr. Rickeyâs office. He needs to see you right away. He has a contract for you to sign.â
That woke Jackie up in a hurry!
An hour later, he was sitting in Rickeyâs office, which looked the same as it had three years before. Even the goldfish were still there. He was staring at them when Rickey entered, carrying a contract in his hands. He set it down on the desk in front of Jackie and handed him a pen.
âIâm so sorry about the rush,â Rickey told him. âEvents are unfolding too fast to keep up with. The burden has finally fallen to me, and so be it.â
Jackie didnât know what Rickey was talking about, exactly â and he didnât much care. All that mattered to him right now was the piece of paper in front of him, and the fact that it put together two very important names: âJack Roosevelt Robinsonâ and âBrooklyn Dodgers.â He barely glanced at the rest before pointing near the bottom. âSign