Historic Baseball Career Had an Ugly Ending

There was nearly as much attention paid to Jackie Robinson’s retirement from baseball as there was to his becoming the first African American to play major league baseball.

On this date in 1957, he retired--and the way he did it infuriated the only club he had played for.

The Brooklyn Dodgers, on Dec. 13, 1956, had traded Robinson to the New York Giants for $30,000 and a journeyman pitcher, Dick Littlefield.

Robinson, 37, was angered that the Dodger general manager, Buzzy Bavasi, hadn’t told him about the deal. But Robinson had already planned to retire and had a deal to enter private business.

He had denied to newspapermen for weeks that he was going to retire. What wasn’t generally known, though, was that he had been paid by Look magazine for a story headlined: “Why I’m quitting baseball.”

The Giants pleaded for Robinson to reconsider, offering him a $60,000 salary. The Dodgers had paid him $30,000 in 1956, which was a cut from his 1955 salary, $33,000.

Bavasi blew his top.

“Jackie handled the whole thing in bush style,” he said.

“He denies to the newspaper guys he’s retiring, then takes money for saying he is.”

Also on this date: Globetrotters Lose! In 1971, the Harlem Globetrotters’ patsy, the Washington Generals, beat the Globetrotters, 100-99, at Martin, Tenn., on a last-second shot by Red Klotz.

Also on this date: Arguably the best of the American Football League teams, the 1963 San Diego Chargers, beat the Boston Patriots, 51-10, in the 1964 AFL title game at San Diego’s Balboa Stadium.