Aug. 5, 1964 - San Francisco manager Alvin Dark held a brief meeting with the Giants today and told them he judged them by the way they performed on the field, without regard to race or creed.
He told his team that he hadn’t held a “racial discussion” with the author of the columns that caused a wide controversy over his beliefs concerning Negro and Latin-American players.
“I’ve always judged a player by the way he performs,” Dark told the Giants. “I’ve always done that as a player and a manager, and I always will.”
Dark got a major boost from Willie Mays, his captain and star center fielder. Mays was ailing and not on the original lineup list. But minutes before the game against the Mets, he asked to play. He explained:
“These guys [reporters] are trying to get Dark fired. I shouldn’t be playing, but I’m doing it only to help the manager.”
Dark got help from an unexpected direction earlier when Jackie Robinson, the first man to break baseball’s “color line,” came to his defense.
Robinson called Dark a “fair-minded man without racial prejudice.” Jackie added:
“I don’t believe he said the things attributed to him. I have known Dark for many years, and my relationships with him, on and off the field, has always been exceptional. I have found him to be a gentleman and, above all, without malice toward Negro players.”
The Giants seemed eager to forget the whole thing.
“Dark has always been very nice to me,” said shortstop José Pagan. “I have no complaints. Let’s just bear down and win the pennant. I think we’re going to win it.”
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