Baseball As America

From the Tour: On the Road With Baseball As America

Robinson’s Jersey a Symbol of Pride, Passion of the American Game

by John Odell,
Baseball As America Curatorial Committee Member

(Article originally published in Memories and Dreams — Summer 2004)

Jackie Robinson.

Artifacts preserved in Cooperstown help explain many baseball stories. The historic value, not the market value, is what we care about. Such is the case with Jackie Robinson’s jersey from 1956, on tour with Baseball As America.

Before Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, before Brown v. Board of Education ordered the desegregation of public schools, Jackie Robinson walked onto Ebbets Field and changed baseball forever. Opening Day 1947 was immediately recognized as a remarkable event – the voluntary, peaceful desegregation of a longstanding American institution. It remains one of baseball’s, and America’s, seminal moments.

The treasures in Baseball As America often remind us of a player’s excellence. Robinson’s red, white, and blue Brooklyn Dodgers jersey, from his 10th and final big-league year, is one such item. Bearing his name chain-stitched into the tail, it shows the wear, tear, and dirt one would expect from a uniform used in the majors. When he retired following the 1956 season, Robinson had won the first Rookie of the Year Award (later renamed in his honor), been named to six All-Star teams, and earned a Most Valuable Player Award.

Robinson wore number 42 throughout his major league career; for baseball fans and American historians, the number and the man are forever linked. Although hundreds of players have worn it over the years, the number is as associated with no other player, and likely never will be.

On April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s debut, Major League Baseball permanently retired number 42 for all major league and minor league players. An exception was granted for players who already were wearing it; of these, only New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera is still active and wears the number.

Jackie Robinson wore this jersey during the 1955 season, his last in baseball.

Today, as we reflect on his achievements, we sometimes remember Robinson the icon – the man who broke the color line – and forget what an extraordinary person he was. At UCLA, Robinson lettered in four sports in a single year – baseball, football, basketball, and track – the school’s first student to do so. As an Army second lieutenant, he faced a court-martial after refusing to move to the back of the bus on a military base. After baseball, he was a successful businessman who tirelessly promoted the cause of civil rights.

Nine days before his death in 1972, and 25 years after his first big league season, Robinson spoke at the World Series. In his speech, he thanked Pee Wee Reese, the late Branch Rickey and others who had assisted him in his career. He then challenged baseball one last time, hoping to “look at that third base coaching line one day and see a black face managing in baseball.” It was Robinson’s approach to life, both on and off the diamond – not content with the status quo and always pushing one step further.

Robinson’s jersey certainly signifies his tremendous playing career. Ultimately, however, what no jersey can ever show are the marks of insults and slurs hurled at Robinson while playing, the injustices he endured on and off the field, and the character he showed throughout his life. It remains our responsibility to collect artifacts like this jersey to pass on larger stories to succeeding generations in Cooperstown. It’s here that lessons are shared and taught.