Reggie Jackson encountered horrendous racism in his MLB career, and he opened up on Thursday night about how he never would wish what he experienced on anyone.
Jackson joined Fox Sports’ pregame coverage of Giants-Cardinals from Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, where he played for the A’s Double-A affiliate in the late 1960s, and was asked by Alex Rodriguez about what it felt like to return.
“Coming back here is not easy,” Jackson said.
Warning: Graphic language
“The racism when I played here, the difficulty of going through different places where we traveled, fortunately, I had a manager and players on the team that helped me get through it. But I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.
Jackson said he was asked if he viewed his experience of having won and conquered a challenge.
“I said I would never want to do it again,” Jackson continued.
“I would walk into restaurants and they would point at me and say, ‘A [N-word] can’t eat here.’ I would go into a hotel and they’d say, ‘The [N-word] can’t stay here.’ We went to [former A’s owner] Charlie Finley’s country club for a welcome home dinner, and they pointed me out with the N-word. ‘He can’t come in here.’ Finley marched the whole team out.
“Finally they let me in there. He said, ‘We’re gonna go to the diner and eat hamburgers. We’ll go where we’re wanted.’”
Jackson’s MLB career spanned from 1967-87, with the A’s, Orioles, Yankees and Angels.
Speaking on Fox on Thursday, he credited his teammates for having his back amid racist encounters.
“Fortunately, I had a manager in Johnny McNamara, if I couldn’t eat in a place, nobody would eat [there]. We’d get food to travel,” Jackson said.
“If I couldn’t stay in a hotel, they’d drive to the next hotel and find a place where I could stay. Had it not been for Rollie Fingers, Johnny McNamara, Dave Duncan, Joe and Sharon Rudi — I slept on their couch three, four nights a week for about a month and a half. Finally, they were threatened that they would burn our apartment complex down unless I got out. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
