NEWARK, N.J. - Except for the color of her skin, she appeared to be just another young wife having pregame butterflies as her husband took the field for his first game in the minor leagues.

Her nerves were on edge, hoping he would get a couple of hits, steal a few bases and not make any errors. It would be Day 1 on the way to the major leagues.

But Rachel Robinson had more on her mind than hits and errors on April 18, 1946, in Jersey City when the Montreal Royals played the Jersey City Little Giants.

The man playing second base for the Royals 50 years ago was doing more than making his minor league debut. Jackie Robinson was breaking the color barrier, becoming the first black to play in organized baseball in the modern era, and enjoying the moment was near impossible for his wife.

Rachel Robinson simply didn't know what to expect from anyone, the fans, the players or even the authorities.

''We had come from spring training in Florida and it was kind of horrendous with all the raw racial attacks Jack had to take,'' she said.

Robinson and his teammates had been locked out of the game in Jacksonville and he had been taken off the field by authorities in Sanford because local ordinances prohibited mixed race games. There were also the rides in the backs of buses, separate lodgings and the racial slurs.

Compounding the situation was his batting slump that spring.

''I was concerned about what the atmosphere was going to be like in New Jersey and that Jack would have a good day,'' Rachel Robinson said Tuesday. ''It was very important for him to do that.''

Arriving from New York City, Rachel Robinson recalled finding a festive mood. Schools had been let out by then Mayor Frank Hague, the ballpark was packed

''Somehow, I couldn't join in the fun of that, emotionally,'' she said. ''I was just very nervous. I didn't sit down until the third inning when he got his first hit. I kind of walked through the aisles, clutching my bag and worrying.

''We needed a job. We had just gotten married on Feb. 10 and we had no savings. There weren't a lot of options for black professional ballplayers in those days.''

Jackie Robinson, who was then 27, needed only one game to erase his wife's worries.

According to reports of the game, he received polite applause in his first at bat and then grounded out against left-hander Warren Sandell.

Two innings later, Robinson hit Sandell's first pitch over the left-field wall for a three-run homer, starting what would be a great day. He singled in his final three at-bats, stole two bases, drove in four runs and scored three more times, twice by inducing balks while on third base.

George Shuba, the Royals left fielder that day and later Robinson's teammate in Brooklyn, remembers the performance well. He batted behind Robinson.

''He just had a great game,'' Shuba said from Mobile, Ala,. where he was on a trip. ''I was the fortunate one. He batted second and I batted third, and when he hit the home run everybody was looking to see if a white guy was going to shake his hand. Hell, he was on our side, wasn't he? No problem.''

Shuba said Robinson never stopped hitting that season and won the International League batting title with what he recalled as a .349 average.

''As we went from ballpark to ballpark and black fans began to fill the stands in unprecedented ways and reacted very vocally to anything he did, it became clear to us that he was carrying the aspirations of our race on his shoulders,'' she said. ''He began to feel that keenly, and he knew if he failed that it would set back social progress for God knows how long. If he was simply doing it for himself, the pressure would have been much different.''

Shuba marvels at Robinson's 1946 season.

''Most of us players could not comprehend that he was able to perform so magnificently under such tremendous pressure,'' Shuba said. ''He certainly had a great first year in Montreal and I think it was almost more important than the one in '47, his first in the majors. He could have hit .220 or got beaned or got injured and not played a lot of games. But everything went right. If he had hit .210 with Montreal, who knows?''