Jackie Robinson’s Montreal apartment commemorated by U.S. government

MONTREAL – A key chapter in American civil-rights history was marked on Monday when diplomats unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Montreal apartment Jackie Robinson and his wife Rachel called home in the summer of 1946.

The event was attended by the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay and Robinson’s daughter, Sharon.

The ceremony was timed to coincide with Black History Month.

Sharon Robinson said Montreal was the perfect place for her family to live.

"My parents had an incredible experience here in Montreal, it was their beginning in baseball, and it gave them a refuge from difficult places in the South," she said.

Tremblay praised Montreal for being an open and accepting city, and baseball analyst Rodger Brulotte said the commemorative plaque was "long overdue". He’s also pushing to have a street named after the famous sportsman.

"If we could have a street named de Gaspe we can have a street named Jackie Robinson," he said, referring to the street on which the old apartment is located.

Robinson made history as a member of the minor-league Montreal Royals for one season.

It was his final stop before breaking the infamous colour barrier in Major League Baseball the next year with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

An official at the ceremony read a letter written by Robinson’s widow, Rachel. She said she remembers their Montreal home fondly and says it was a critical part of their story.

The 88-year-old recalls arriving in Montreal, newly married and having survived the Jim Crow south during spring training in Florida.

There they faced racism at every turn: on whites-only flights, in hotels, in restaurants and at ballparks. In some cities, they were chased out of town.

Rachel Robinson says Jackie would be the target of slurs and attacks just about everywhere he went in the U.S., which made them cherish even more their time in Montreal.