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Jackie Robinson talks race relations

Broadcast Date: April 7, 1964

"In helping others, I've helped myself," baseball legend Jackie Robinson tells CBC-TV's Youth Special. In this interview from 1964, Robinson reveals his insights into race relations, and discusses the career choices available for retired athletes. He also talks about his early days playing for the Montreal Royals baseball team, fondly remembering the way the fans treated him and his wife.

Jackie Robinson talks race relations

• Youth Special was produced in Montreal in the early 1960s. It was a program for young people aged 18 to 24.

• Host Stuart Smith went on to earn his degree in medicine from McGill University in Montreal. His major was psychiatry.

• Smith entered politics at an early age, withdrawing his name for the Liberal nomination to Pierre Trudeau in Mount Royal, in 1965. He later moved to Hamilton, Ont., and was elected MPP in 1975. He was elected leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1977, succeeding Robert Nixon.

• Jackie Robinson was the first black player in Major League Baseball. He made his debut in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. He played 10 years and won one World Series in 1955. He retired a year later and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

• Robinson was very active in the civil rights movement all his life. He served on the board of directors for the NAACP for 10 years and started a construction company dedicated to building housing for families with low incomes. He died in 1972.

Jackie Robinson talks race relations

Medium: Television

Program: Youth Special

Broadcast Date: April 7, 1964

Guest(s): Jackie Robinson

Interviewer: Stuart Smith

Duration: 10:40

Last updated:
Oct. 31, 2008