'Coming back is not easy': Reggie Jackson recalls racism he faced in 1967 Alabama

Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was the 1973 American League MVP, a two-time World Series MVP and 14-time all-star. 

He was dubbed "Mr. October" for his hitting during the playoffs. 

But before all that he played as a minor leaguer on a team in Birmingham, Ala., in 1967.

On Thursday night, during a broadcast of a game between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham to honour the Negro Leagues, Jackson offered up a raw remembrance of the racism he faced as a Black player there 57 years ago. 

"Coming back is not easy," Jackson said.

Alex Rodriguez asked a question. Reggie Jackson answered it.<br><br>(Shouts to the producer and rest of the desk for staying out of Reggie’s way and just letting him talk. I doubt they expected this answer. But it’s a great few minutes of television.)<a href="https://t.co/7WqjlppvF8">pic.twitter.com/7WqjlppvF8</a>

"The racism … when I played here. The difficulty of going through different places where we travelled. Fortunately, I had a manager and had players on the team who helped me get through it. But I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

"People said to me today, I spoke, and they said 'You think you're a better person? Do you think you won when you played here and conquered?' I said, 'You know, I would never… want to do it again.

"I walked into restaurants and they would point at me and say, 'The [censored] can't eat here.' I would go to a hotel and they'd say, 'The [censored] can't stay here.

"We went to [Kansas City Athletics owner] Charlie Finley's country club for a welcome home dinner and they pointed me out with the n-word: 'He can't come in here.' Finley marched the whole team out. Finally, they let me in there. He said, 'We're going to go to