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Historical AccuraciesAndre Holland was an Important Supporter of Robinson
The movie depicts a sportswriter (Wendell Smith) as an important contributor to Robinson's success. Smith recommended Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey, which eventually led to Robinson's promotion to the big leagues. Smith also was at Robinson's side as they traveled and stayed in segregated hotels. Smith assisted Robinson by ghostwriting Jackie Robinson's weekly 1947 newspaper column. (Chicagotribune.com) The Bean Ball to Robinson's Head The scene in 42 where Robinson is hit be a pitch is mostly true, but some drama was added. While the movie shows Pirates pitcher Fritz Ostermueller hitting Jackie in the head during a 1947 game, he actually hit Robinson in the elbow as Jackie lifted his arm to shield his face. Former Pirate Jim Russell later said that Ostermueller had been ordered to take Robinson down, but others have said that this was unlikely as public sentiment was already turning in Robinson's favor. The pitch was likely nothing more than just a brush-back pitch, a common occurrence at the time.(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Reese's Support For Robinson One of the most dramatic events in the movie was when fellow teammate Pee Wee Reese put his arm around Robinson on the field. First hand accounts differ as to whether Reese only put his hand on Robinson's shoulder, or simply stood beside Robinson. The benifical effects of the act on Robinson are not in question. Rachel Robinson has stated that: "I remember Jackie talking about Pee Wee's gesture the day it happened. It came as such a relief to him, that a teammate and the captain of the team would go out of his way in such a public fashion to express friendship." (NYTimes.com) |
Historical InacuraciesJackie Robinson arrested and court-martial.
The movie does not tell the entire story about Robinson's military history. This experience likely gave him the basis for challenging segregation in baseball. he movie explains that Robinson was arrested and stood trial in a court-martial court for refusing to go to the back of a segregated bus. The movie does not explain that Robinson was acquitted of the charges and was given an honorable discharge. (JackieRobinson.org) Tossing a ball to a Future World Series Winner. During the movie, Jacke Robinson tosses a ball to a young baseball player as he leaves on a train. At the end of 42, a trailer states that Ed Charles did grow up to win the World Series as part of the "Miracle Mets" team of 1969. Robinson never tossed the ball to young Charles. When asked about this, Charles has stated that he did attend a game in the segregated section of the ballpark as he did not believe the stories in the papers that a Black player had actually made it to the big leagues. He is quoted as saying, "When the game was over we kids followed Jackie to the train station. When the train pulled out, we ran down the tracks listening for the sounds as far as we could. And when we couldn't hear it any longer, we stopped and put our ears to the track so we could feel the vibrations of that train carrying Jackie Robinson. We wanted to be part of him as long as we could." (HistoryNet.com) Smashing Bat in the Tunnel In the movie, after enduring racial slurs by Phillies manager Ben Chapman, Jackie Robinson is seen smashing his bat against a wall and breaking it into pieces. This scene never happened in real life. In fact, the filmmaker's only justification for putting this scene into the movie was their feeling that at some point Robinson had to have cracked. Theis claim is supported by Chadwick Boseman's statement "Rachel Robinson didn't fight us to take (the scene) out (of the film), to me proves that it is true." (Reuters.com) |