Michael Beschloss of the New York Times had a story over the weekend chronicling how, though Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947, spring training in Florida took much, much longer to become an institution with even a modicum of equality.
It wasn’t until just before the Civil Rights Act in 1964 that all teams had fully-integrated spring training accommodations in Florida.
But Dodgertown itself could not solve the larger problem of racial separation in the Grapefruit League. More than a decade after Robinson joined the Dodgers, black players for other teams were still shunned by many Florida hotels and restaurants. African-American spectators in West Palm Beach were forced to enter the baseball park by slipping through a gap in the stadium fence.
It wasn’t until just before the Civil Rights Act in 1964 that all teams had fully-integrated spring training accommodations in Florida.
An interesting and informative read.
