On December 28, 1986, a letter appeared in the “Fans View” section of the Globe, written by a man from Lexington. It was an open letter to Jim Rice. The first paragraph talked about Tommy Harper’s cash settlement in his lawsuit with the Sox, an issue about which I recently wrote. The fan wrote that the settlement would not allow Harper to continue his baseball career. He was forced to work for a time at an auto body shop near Fenway Park.
Paragraph 2 went as follows: “The press reported you as saying it was none of your concern. Sorry, Jim, like Joe Louis once said about an opponent: ‘You can run but you can’t hide’- and neither can you. Distancing yourself from the realities of racism is a disservice. If you’ve rationalized that all that’s important is your comfortable position with your club, with baseball, with your life, you’re wrong. Not every black man has been able to realize your dream. And that’s where it’s at, Jim-you’ve got to put something back, something more important than baseball. You have to take care of your own. That’s what Jackie Robinson did. Remember him? He is why you are where you are today.”
This letter underlines one of many issues Rice faced during his long Sox career. The man lectured him on the Harper issue and told him what he had to do. Jim, on the other hand, wanted only to play and be left alone. At times he could be mean and surly, but we must remember that being a black superstar in Boston in the 70’s and 80’s was not easy. Jim did not want to be team spokesman, especially about racial issues. Rice was not comfortable being an outspoken critic like /Bill Russell. Saying that Jim “had to take care of his own” is unfair. Did Joe DiMaggio have to take care of all the Italian-American players on the Yankees during his career?
I do not condone Rice’s failure to help Harper out-the two had been friends and Jim’s apparent lack of support damaged their relationship for many years. But that was between Jim and Tommy It is attitudes like those of the Lexington man that made Rice withdraw even more into an angry shell, though relations between him and the team have greatly improved since his retirement.
Jim Rice is in the Hall of Fame for one reason-his superior performance on the baseball diamond.
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