Aaron: Baseball Still Suffering From Prejudice : Says Campanis’ Comments Show Management’s Attitude

Hank Aaron, baseball’s home run king, said Tuesday that Dodgers executive Al Campanis’ observation that blacks may not have all that it takes to run a major league team is an example that the game still has racial prejudice at its top levels.

Campanis, the Los Angeles’ vice president of player personnel, was asked on ABC-TV’s “Nightline” Monday night why there are no black field managers and few blacks in baseball management positions.

“I don’t believe it’s prejudice,” Campanis said. “I truly believe they (blacks) may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager or perhaps a general manager. I don’t say all of them, but how many quarterbacks, how many pitchers do you have that are black?”

Aaron, now an executive with the Atlanta Braves, said: “I think Mr. Campanis is fairly intelligent, but when he makes statements like that, I think he has his head buried in the sand. He believes that blacks are not capable enough or intelligent enough to run a baseball team, and his belief is not different than any of the other owners.

“I’ve been hoping that things would change for the last 10 years. But I don’t see any signs of hope because you still have people like Campanis with his beliefs. When you have that, blacks aren’t ever going to get any place.”

Contacted at the hotel where the Dodgers are staying in Houston, Campanis said he did not want to embellish on his remarks until he had reviewed the transcript and videotape of the interview. He said he would issue a statement later.

“I have the utmost respect for Hank,” he said of Aaron, “but I really don’t want to comment at this time.”

In the interview, Campanis also suggested that successful black athletes have been unwilling to stay in baseball after their playing days because of greater money offered elsewhere.

“You have to pay your dues to become a manager,” he said. “Generally you have to go to the minor leagues. There’s not much pay involved and some of the better-known black players have been able to get into better fields--and make a better living in that way.”

Said Aaron: “You have to remember that Joe Torre, Ted Williams and others didn’t go to the minor leagues before managing. I draw the conclusion that baseball is still somewhat prejudiced in hiring blacks as managers and front office people. I think that any blind person can see that.”

Aaron, a member of the Hall of Fame, is entering his 11th year as director of player development for the Braves. He briefly campaigned to be commissioner of baseball before the owners selected Peter Ueberroth to succeed Bowie Kuhn. Aaron has said he would like to be the game’s first black commissioner.

Campanis was part of the Brooklyn organization when Jackie Robinson became the first black to play in the major leagues on April 15, 1947.

“The Dodgers led the way with Jackie Robinson, but if you look at their track record, it’s very, very bleak,” Aaron said. “I mean, they haven’t gone out of their way to give blacks good jobs. It seems like they would be the one to lead the way.”

The first black manager was Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who became Cleveland’s manager on April 8, 1975. Robinson later managed the San Francisco Giants, but there now are no black managers in the big leagues.