The Dodgers went on to Pittsburgh for a three-game series. Robinson stroked six hits in thirteen at bats. At one point he scratched a ground ball over to the left side of the infield and ran to beat the throw to first base. Hank Greenberg, who had just been traded to the Pirates for his last year in the major leagues, stood staunchly on the bag. The most prominent Jew in major league baseball would not be pushed off; the first black player of the century in major league baseball would not be pushed away. The two men who knew most about the stain and sting of bigotry in baseball collided at first base on an afternoon in Forbes Field. The crunch rang out in both dugouts. An umpire called Robinson safe. Hank Greenberg rose slowly with the ball in his huge gloved hand. The two men smacked the dust from their jerseys and resettled their caps on their heads. They each turned to watch the mound and began to crouch for the next pitch. “Stick in there,” Hank Greenberg called to Jackie Robinson behind him. “You’re doing fine. Keep your chin up.” After the game, Robinson told Wendell Smith, “Class sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg.”

Excerpt from the book Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball by Scott Simon