Feb. 1, 1964 - Jackie Robinson announced last night that he was leaving his job with the Chock Full O’ Nuts company to join Governor Rockefeller’s campaign staff. The former Brooklyn Dodger baseball star said he had a “tremendous amount of faith and confidence in Governor Rockefeller” and wanted to do all he could to help his campaign. Mr. Robinson said he was not sure yet what role he would play in the Governor’s campaign to win the Republican Presidential nomination.
Both in 1958 and in 1962, when Governor Rockefeller was campaigning for the governorship, Mr. Robinson was a strong supporter and made many speeches throughout New York state. He also backed Richard M. Nixon during the 1960 Presidential campaign and traveled widely throughout the country making speeches on behalf of the Republican candidate.
In a telephone interview from his home in Stamford, Conn., Mr. Robinson said he thought the most pressing problem in America today was civil rights. Mr. Robinson, the first Negro to play in the major leagues, said he considered Governor Rockefeller the best man available to lead an all-out attack on racial discrimination in this country. He also said he thought that Mr. Rockefeller, through his campaigning, would “make the Democrats live up to some of their promises” on civil rights.
Mr. Robinson, who rose to fame as second baseman for the Dodgers in the 1940s and early ‘50s, was admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
