I know Hank [ Aaron ] and Jackie [ Robinson ] took a good deal of crap, but I guarantee it wasn't for six years. I just keep thinking: How much am I supposed to take?

Jackie Robinson is a true legend.

It was a big deal for Hank Aaron to come around our neighborhood. That he was a black ballplayer in the pros meant a lot to us. If you were doing something like that, you got respect.

I don't know. I didn't see them. All I know is Hank Aaron didn't take them, Willie Mays didn't take them, Roberto Clemente didn't take them. If I saw them, I'd tell you.

When I went to Brooklyn in 1948 Jackie Robinson was at the height of his brilliant career.

To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved.