TLS, one page, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead, June 20, 1962. Letter to Alfred A. Duckett, replying to an invitation to the Jackie Robinson SCLC Hall of Fame Dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria on July 20, 1962. In part: “Of course the California campaign will require my being here at that time. However, you may rest assured my heart will be there with Jackie. I have written him earlier regarding his entrance to the Hall of Fame, and as I told him then, I don’t know who is honored more by the associtaion—Jackie Robinson or the Hall of Fame. I am happy to enclose my check for $100.00 aware that Jackie in his commendable charity will direct it to the Southern Voter Registration Drive now being conducted by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” A note from one of Duckett’s secretaries stapled to the upper left bears a short pencil notation, “AD—Shouldn’t you or Jackie R. acknowledge this.” In fine condition. Duckett, an author, assisted King on two of his books and later collaborated with Jackie Robinson on his autobiography. From the collection of Warren Arthur ‘Chip’ Logan.
Robinson was active in politics throughout his post-baseball life, generally holding conservative beliefs and supporting the Republican candidate. He campaigned for Nixon in his 1960 run for president, denouncing Kennedy’s civil rights commitments as insincere. Even after Kennedy made his famous call to Coretta Scott King to help get her husband released from jail, Robinson remained devoted to Nixon. It wasn’t until 1964, when Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater—a staunch opponent of the Civil Rights Act—that he finally broke with the party. He would later stand behind Hubert Humphrey, not his one-time friend Richard Nixon, in the 1968 presidential election. Regretting his inability to attend Robinson’s historic induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame due to his gubernatorial campaign, this is a phenomenal association piece, connection the future president, baseball legend, and Civil Rights hero. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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