I speak to you only as an American who happens to be an American Negro and one who is proud of that heritage. We ask for nothing special. We ask only that we be permitted to compete on an even basis, and if we are not worthy, then the competition shall, per se, eliminate us.

At the beginning of the World Series of 1947, I experienced a completely new emotion when the National Anthem was played. This time, I thought, it is being played for me, as much as for anyone else.

The colonel replied that he didn't care how my men had got the job done. He was happy that it had been accomplished. He said that, obviously, no matter how much or how little I knew technically, I was able to get the best out of people I worked with.

When I look back at what I had to go through in black baseball, I can only marvel at the many black players who stuck it out for years in the Jim Crow leagues because they had nowhere else to go.

The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time.

I think if we go back and check our record, the Negro has proven beyond a doubt that we have been more than patient in seeking our rights as American citizens.

This ain't fun. But you watch me, I'll get it done.

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.

My protest about the post exchange seating bore some results. More seats were allocated for blacks, but there were still separate sections for blacks and for whites. At least I had made my men realize that something could be accomplished by speaking out, and I hoped they would be less resigned to unjust conditions.

In my opinion, baseball is as big a business as anything there is. It has to be a business, the way it is conducted.

I do not believe that every person, in every walk of life, can succeed in spite of any handicap. That would be perfection. But I do believe that what I was able to attain came to be because we put behind us (no matter how slowly) the dogmas of the past: to discover the truth of today; and perhaps the greatness of tomorrow.

Relationships may change throughout the gift of time, memories stay the same forever in my mind.

Next time I go to a movie and see a picture of a little ordinary girl become a great star… I'll believe it. And whenever I hear my wife read fairy tales to my little boy, I'll listen. I know now that dreams do come true.

It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first.

How you played in yesterday's game is all that counts.

It would make everything I worked for meaningless if baseball is integrated but political parties were segregated.

The old Dodgers were something special, but of my teammates overall, there was nobody like Pee Wee Reese for me.

Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead.

After two years at UCLA, I decided to leave. I was convinced that no amount of education would help a black man get a job.

If I had to choose between baseball's Hall of Fame and first class citizenship for all of my people. I would say first-class citizenship.