42 – Movie Quotes
Narrator: “Baseball is a democratic thing. It doesn’t know how big you are…it only knows how well you play.”
Narrator: “There were 400 players on the Major League base ball roster, and all of them were white. That number dropped to 399 and that one [black] man stood apart.”
Clyde: “Have you lost your mind? Think about the abuse you’re gonna take.”
Mr. Rickey: “There’s no law against it.”
Clyde: “No, no – but there’s a code. Break a law, they’ll think you’re smart. But break an unwritten law …”
“Money’s not black or white. It’s green.”
“Take that hose out of the tank. Go on! We’ll get our 99 gallons of gas somewhere else.”
Re: Robinson: “Got a quick temper. Why he was court marshaled?”
Mr. Rickey: “Wouldn’t move to the back of the bus.”
“You see?”
Mr. Rickey: “I see he resents segregation. If he were white, you’d call that spirit.”
Mr. Rickey: “He’s a Methodist. I’m a Methodist. God’s a Methodist. You can’t go wrong.”
Mr. Rickey: “One question is, can you control your temper? A black man in white baseball. Can you imagine the anger? The vitriol?
Jackie: “You want a player that does have the guts to fight back?”
Mr. Rickey: “No, no, I want a player who’s got the guts NOT to fight back.”
Mr. Rickey: “Your enemy will be out in force and we cannot stoop to his low ground.”
Mr. Rickey: “Show them by being a great baseball player.”
Mr. Rickey: “Like our Savior, you gotta have the guts to turn the other cheek. Can you do it?”
Jackie: “You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back, and I’ll give you the guts.”
“We’ve been tested, you and me. We’ve done everything the right way. No, the Robinson’s can’t stay at the hotels, they should at least stay somewhere that means something.”
“You know how at the plate you wanna see the ball come in slow? You wanna be prepared for these questions.”
“Is this about politics?”
“It’s about getting paid.”
“Huh. That’s practically superhuman.”
Hop: “Super-human? That’s still a n***** out there.”
Mr. Rickey to Hop: “You will either manage him fairly or you will be unemployed. Now I realize prejudism is a part of your cultural heritage.”
“What do you serve when a hero’s coming to dinner?”
Jackie: “Oh no. I’m just a ball player.”
“Huh! You try telling that to all those little boys out there playing ball. To them you’re a hero.”
“Jack’s got a thick skin. He’ll be OK.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll get one in a hurry!”
Little African American Boy prays: “Please God, please let Jackie Robinson show them how we can do it.”
“What are you doing? You can dance with him later. Work the play.”
“But he didn’t do anything?!”
“Oh mama, yes he did! He discombobulated the man!”
As they were leaving town due to racial danger, Robinson tells the driver, “Well, why didn’t you say so? [why they were leaving] I thought I was cut from the team!”
“I want you to know I’m pulling for you. That’s all. If a man’s got the goods, he deserves a fair chance.”
Jackie: “Mr. Rickey, Why you doing this?”
Mr. Rickey: “I’m in the baseball business. You and the other negro players I hope to put together can win the World Series. And that means money. You believe that, don’t you?”
Jackie: “I don’t think it matters what I believe, only what I do.”
“He might be superhuman after all.”
Jackie to his child: “My dad left me when I was 6 months. I don’t remember nothing. Nothing good. Nothing bad. You will remember me. I’m gonna be here with you till the day I die.”
Mr. Rickey: “What do you think about the Bible? It says love your neighbor about eight times.”
Jackie: “God built me to last.”
“If he’s man enough to get my job, then I figure he deserves it.”
“If Robinson can help us win (and everything I have seen says he can), then he is going to play. … And think about this: He is only the FIRST. Oh yeah. More will be coming and they want to play. You better start worrying about you jobs.”
Jackie: “You been there for me more than anyone else. ‘Cept Ray and Rickey, and that’s what scares me. I don’t like needing someone to be there for me.”
“I need Durocher. He’s the only one who can handle this much trouble. In fact, he loves it.”
“It’s all right. He can take it. God built him to last.”
“These men have to live with themselves.”
“You don’t have a right to pull out from the backing of people that believe in you.”
Jackie: “Do you know what it’s like?”
Mr. Rickey: “No. You do. You’re the one living the sermon. 40 days. In the Wilderness.”
Jackie: “Not a g** d**** thing I can do about it.”
Mr. Rickey: “Sure there is. Get out there and hit. Score. Win this game for us.”
Jackie: “Thanks.”
“For what? You’re on my team. What the h*** else am I supposed to do?”
Jackie: “I don’t care if they like me. I didn’t come here to make friends. I don’t even care if they respect me. Got enough respect for myself. But I don’t want them to break me. They came close today.”
Mr. Rickey: “Sympathy. It’s a Greek word. Means to suffer. I suffer with you. That manager [Philadelphia], he’s doing me a favor. He’s creating sympathy on my team. Philly means city of brotherly love.”
Mr. Rickey: “What do you do with your team is your decision, but my team will be there with Jackie Robinson.”
Mr. Rickey: “You think God likes baseball, Harold?”
Harold: “What’s that mean?”
Mr. Rickey: “It means someday when God asks why you did not take the field and you say it’s because of Jackie Robinson, it might not be a sufficient reply.”
“They’re just ignorant Jackie. If they knew you, they would be ashamed [of themselves].”
“I just like to play ball.”
Mr. Rickey: “Oh I understand. I bet Jackie Robinson wants to just play ball too. I bet he wishes he wasn’t leading the league in Hit-by-Pitch. Thank you.”
PeeWee: “I got family up there from Louisville. I need ‘em to know. I need ‘em to know who I am.”
PeeWee: “Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear 42. That way they can’t tell us apart.”
“You’re the bravest guy I ever saw. You’re leading us. You’re afraid to take a shower?? [Said puzzlingly.] Come on. Take a shower with me. That came out a little wrong… As a team. Why don’t we shower together?…”
Jackie: “Hey – stop.”
Mr. Rickey: “I was passing a sand lot. Little white boy – he was pretending he was you. Little white boy pretending he was a black man.”
Jackie: “Why did you do this, Mr. Rickey?”
Mr. Rickey: “Had a victory over fascism in Germany. It’s changing. Had a victory over racism in America.”
Mr. Rickey tells a story of seeing someone in baseball “laid low, broken” because of racism and he “didn’t do enough to help.” He explains to Jackie that “something was broken in the game” for him at that point. But Jackie, “You, you let me love baseball again. Thank you.”
About Jackie: “The man flat out has guts. He’s complicated everything but himself.”
“Working together is how you win.”
“The number ‘42’ is the only number retired by baseball hall of fame.”