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

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.

The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.

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

There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.

It's not easy to be a martyr in the field of race relations.

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