the mills like him". Shuba pursued his goal, however, developing his "natural" swing by practicing for hours with a rope that was tied to the ceiling. He made knots in the rope where the strike zone would be and swung a bat at the rope 600 times a day. This rigorously observed ritual prepared Shuba to compete in the major leagues, where his powerful line drives later earned him the nickname, "Shotgun". The Handshake In the mid-1940s, Shuba was recruited by the Montreal Royals, a major farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The New York Times described the historic day: On the afternoon of April 18, 1946, Robinson became the first black player in modern organized baseball when he made his debut with the Dodgers’ Montreal Royals farm team in their International League opener against the Jersey City Giants. In the third inning, Robinson hit a three-run homer over the left-field fence. When he completed his trip around the bases, Shuba, the Royals’ left fielder and their next batter, shook his hand. Congratulating a home-run hitter was a commonplace ritual, but Shuba's welcome to a smiling Robinson was captured in an Associated Press photograph that has endured as a portrait of racial tolerance. The moment was described as the "first interracial handshake" in North American baseball's recent history. On December 3, 2019 it was reported that a 7-foot statue of the handshake would be created and placed in Shuba's hometown, Youngstown, Ohio. The statue, entitled A Handshake for the Century, was unveiled on April 18, 2021, the 75th anniversary of the handshake. Minor Leagues Despite a record that seemed to merit promotion, he spent the 1947 and 1948 baseball seasons with the minor league Mobile Bears. Shuba later told Roger Kahn that in 1947, he hit 21 home runs and knocked in 110 runs. The next year, Shuba worked up a batting average of .389. In response, Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey complained that Shuba's "power fell off", adding that the team needed "someone who can hit them over that short right-field wall in Ebbets Field". Frustrated, Shuba returned to Mobile in the spring of 1948. "What could I say?" Shuba explained in an interview with Kahn. "As long as he could option me, you know, send me down but keep me Dodger property, Rickey would do that so's he could keep some other guy whose option ran out. Property,