I played with the Birmingham Black Barons. I was making 500 at 14. That was a lot of money in those days.
People talk about that catch and, I've said this many times, that I've made better catches than that many times in regular season. But of course in my time, you didn't have a lot of television during the regular season. A lot of people didn't see me do a lot of things.
I think I was programmed to do good things when I came into the majors. I knew how to play.
Yes, I had to learn how to live life outside, but I had so many people help me.
Robinson was important to all blacks. To make it into the majors and to take all the name calling, he had to be something special. He had to take all this for years, not just for Jackie Robinson, but for the nation.
Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson.
